wkw cspmiq5 Nk3k5 Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut Inuit Knowledge of Polar Bears A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization Prepared by Darren Keith with Jerry Arqviq, Louie Kamookak and Jackie Ameralik and the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

© 2005 Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization and CCI Press

Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Knowledge of Polar Bears

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Main entry under title Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut = Inuit Knowledge of Polar Bears/ Darren Keith … [et al.] (Solstice Series, no. 4) Co-published by the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization Includes bibliographical references ISBN 1-896445-32-2 ISSN 1709-5824 Solstice Series No. 4 1. Polar bear hunting – Canada, Northern. 2. Inuit – hunting. 3. Inuit – hunting – Nunavut -- Gjoa Haven Region. 4. Polar bear. I. Keith (Darren Edward), 1967 --. II. Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization. IlI. Title: Inuit knowledge of polar Bears. IV. Series

E99.E7159 2005

639’.11786’0899712

C2005-900905-5

All rights reserved. © 2005 Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization and CCI Press Inuktitut summary by Norman Keenainak and Nick Amautinnuar Printed in Canada by art design printing, inc. Cover design by art design printing, inc. Cover and inside illustrations by Danny Aluk The publication of this volume was made possible by a grant from the World Wildlife Federation.

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgements Inuktitut Summary Introduction Polar Bear Hunting in the Central Canadian Arctic Pre-Trading Post Era – Before the 1920s After the Arrival of Traders – 1920s to Settlement From Settlement to the Present

Hunting and Use of Polar Bear

Apumiujuksiuqtut -- Hunting Polar Bears in Dens Hunting by Dog Team Current Hunting Methods

Tradition, Culture, and Beliefs

The Cultural Value of Polar Bear Meat Sharing of Polar Beat Meat Processing and Uses of Polar Bear Parts Beliefs The Cultural Significance of Polar Bear Hunting Safety in Polar Bear Country

Identifying Polar Bears by Age and Sex

Polar Bear Age and Sex Terminology Identification and Tracking

Denning and Denning Habitat

Denning Habitat and Core Denning Areas Changes in Core Denning Areas

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vi 1 33 35 35 39 44 47 47 54 58 61 61 63 68 72 82 86 91 91 93 95 97 98

Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Knowledge of Polar Bears

Polar Bear Feeding and Feeding Habitat Seals and Seal Habitat How Polar Bears Hunt Where Polar Bears Feed Polar Bear Habitat Preferences

Environmental Changes

Sea-Ice Icebergs and Multi-Year Ice Snow Freshwater Ice Other Observations on Environmental Change

Polar Bear Population and Distribution

Inuit Qaujimaningit of Polar Bear Mobility Changing Polar Bear Encounters Reasons for Decline in Polar Bear Numbers Health of Polar Bears

Conclusion References/Further Reading Appendices

Appendix 1: Interview transcripts, 31 January 2002 Appendix 2: Field Trip and Interview notes, 3-16 April 2002 Appendix 3: Interview transcripts, 10 June 2002 Appendix 4: Polar Bear Study: Principles, Methods, Interview Guide Appendix 5: Key to Place Names Inuktitut/English — English/Inuktitut

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107 107 111 114 118 123 123 126 129 132 134 137 137 140 141 144 147 149 151 151 185 205 231 241

A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

Preface Inuit Knowledge (IQ) is in the trust of Elders. IQ incorporates new knowledge and grows, as does any body of knowledge that seeks to explain an ever-changing world. As the oldest living holders of the tradition, Elders have the greatest breadth of inherited knowledge, and the longest time spent assimilating new experiences using their IQ framework. This study presents not only IQ, passed on through the generations, but also IQ–based inferences made by today’s authoritative knowledge holders. Polar bear hunting is today a specialized subsistence activity in Gjoa Haven, with very few individuals participating actively. Of this limited pool of potential informants, even fewer are Elders, and of these, even fewer are still active polar bear hunters and travel extensively throughout the study area. In the course of interviewing various individuals, it became apparent to the authors that significant IQ related to polar bears and associated vocabulary has been lost among active polar bear hunters in their 40s and 50s and younger. This underlines the importance of working with the most authoritative remaining Elders to record IQ of polar bears as comprehensively as possible. The IQ presented in this report was collected in the course of three interview sessions with 16 individuals between January and June 2002. Two sessions were conducted in Gjoa Haven; the transcripts of these sessions form Appendices 1 and 3. Information was also collected as field notes during informal interviews and participant observation during a field trip north of King William Island in early April 2002 (Appendix 2). Quotes from appendices are cited as A1, A2 and A3 respectively throughout the text. Appendix 4 provides information on the study that was the background of this publication. To preserve the accuracy and specificity of Inuit geographical description, an effort was made to use Inuktitut place names in transcripts, field notes, and in this report. A key to place names is included as Appendix 5.

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Knowledge of Polar Bears

Acknowledgements This project and publication would not have been possible without the participation and assistance of a number of individuals. First, the Gjoa Haven HTO commissioned the study and identified individuals in the community to contribute their knowledge and expertise by providing interviews, developing the interview guide, and taking part in consultations and discussions. Co-researchers Louie Kamookak, Jackie Ameralik and Jerry Arqviq provided consecutive translations during the interviews and provided guidance based on their experience as polar bear hunters. Field notes were transcribed from the consecutive interpretations on the audio recordings. Jerry Arqviq was the co-researcher for the field trip, and almost the entire second round of in-town interviews. Elders Bob Konana and George Kamookak were selected to lead the field trip by the Gjoa Haven HTO because of their authority as senior polar bear hunters and their ability to undertake such physically demanding activity. Youth Trainees Ian Kamookak and John Pukiqnaq were selected by the HTO to take part in this study. Geographer Darren Keith was the lead IQ researcher (currently Senior Researcher, Kitikmeot Heritage Society), with Jerry Arqviq as coresearcher. Filmmaker Charles Liard of Big Fish Productions (Yellowknife) accompanied the party to make a video documentary of the trip. The Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut research project was supported by contributions from the Nunavut Department of Sustainable Development, the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, the Bathurst Road and Port Project, and Nunavut Tungavik Inc.

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Photo courtesy CCI Archives

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

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14

A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

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15

Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

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16

A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

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17

Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

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18

A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

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19

Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

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20

A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

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22

A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

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23

Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

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26

A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

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28

A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

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29

Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

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30

A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

ieQ/s?4ggcs4m5 bwmzi5 iE/sc5bw8N3ix3Lt4l yKi4nu. grysm/shw3X5oxiz w4W3N6yxi4g6 bmfkz wkgcsq9i6nk5 Nk3ysc5b6i6 sivoscbs?5oxt5lQ5 b4?i m8N scomos3bsJu4. wkw5 cspmiq5 NkoEi6j5 Nqx3N3gfo6X5oxK5 xbsysq5gi4 W5Jtcs3Lt4. ttC3bs?5oxt5lA bm8N s3h6gus5 i6JtoEp5 vtmpq5 grysm5Jti4 cspm5Jti4 WbcMsq7mb McClintock Channel-u NkoEi6j5. xw?ctQ4if5 vJyt5tymNhx3S5 NkA8N3i6j5 xuhq5g7mE4i4 N8k4tbsJ8N3S5 bmz5. xyp6X5oxizk5 g?3 yfgcw5l Nkw5 NJ3X4bgcq5 Nkw5 xyxkz3X5oxiq8k5 Nk4ONhQ/sK6 Nk3ysc5bD8Nw3tbsiq8k5l Nkw5 WbcDw3X5oxK5. wk4tg5l scD8N5tx3i6 s3h6gu wr4o?5oxo6S6 m4f4g5 wkw5 scsyq5b wMq8i4 xgqo6mb s3h6gu, wk4tg5 scsy5 xg3bs?5oxJ8N3S5 ho vJyymtbslt4 wo8ix3if5, wo8ix3tbs?5oxlt4 scsyf5l WoEif5l nebsymJ8N3S6 Nk3ysi6 xaNhx3if5 nebsymli.

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

Introduction … just last week we came across a bear… Having depended on it for survival, it was difficult not to kill [it] for food … We should be able to give our young people a chance to … hunt them, because the only way they will learn to hunt is by … practices such as traditional hunting …. they really enjoy going out on the land and learning survival skills as well as hunting skills (George Kamookak Video Transcript, Gjoa Haven, May 2002)

This book is about Inuit qaujimaningit (IQ) nanurnut – Inuit knowledge of polar bears. For the Inuit of Gjoa Haven (Uqsuqtuurmiut) the polar bear remains a highly respected animal whose meat and skin is highly valued. Polar bear hunting, and the sharing of polar bear meat continue to be activities that are truly Inuktitut (the ways and language of Inuit), and form part of what it is to be Inuumarik – a real person. Inuit knowledge of polar bears consists of all the methods, tools, traditions, observations and vocabulary that surround polar bear hunting, and therefore the future of that knowledge depends upon the continuation of the hunting tradition. It was with this idea in mind that the Gjoa Haven Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO) initiated the study that resulted in this book. The impetus for a study of IQ was a 2002 imposition of a moratoriam on polar bear hunting in the McClintock Channel Polar Bear Management Area. As this is the area hunted by Uqsuqtuurmiut, the moratorium gave the Gjoa Haven HTO two reasons to record Inuit knowledge of polar bears. First, they were concerned that Inuit knowledge of polar bears in the Gjoa Haven area could not continue to be passed on in the absence of polar bear hunting. Second, they felt that Inuit knowledge of polar bears was not being sufficiently utilized in wildlife management decisions and so it needed to be recorded and communicated. The knowledge represented in this book was recorded during two interview sessions in Gjoa Haven in January and June of 2002 (included in Appendix 1 and 3, respectively), and during a field trip north of Qikiqtaq (King William Island) April 4-12, 2002 (Appendix 2). The individuals

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

interviewed during the two sessions were men who are polar bear hunters or women from polar bear hunting families. These individuals were selected by the Gjoa Haven HTO, or identified through discussions with other interviewees. The field trip portion of the study involved travelling to the north end of King William Island and out onto the sea-ice by snow machine during the period of April 4th to 16th. Elders Bob Konana and George Kamookak were selected to lead the field trip by the Gjoa Haven HTO due to their authority as senior polar bear hunters. Others on the trip included researcher Darren Keith, co-researcher Jerry Arqviq, youth trainees Ian Kamookak and John Pukiqnaq, and documentary filmmaker Charles Laird. The field trip was timed so that the elders were sure that all the polar bears had left their maternity dens. The objectives of the trip were to make observations on: the locations and numbers of maternity dens; polar bear signs such as tracks and seal kills; the behaviour of polar bears that were sighted; and the state of environmental conditions as they related to polar bears. Interviews were conducted throughout the fieldtrip with elders Bob Konana and George Kamookak. During the interviews and the field trip described above, the authors learned much about Inuit knowledge of polar bears that could only be provided by the Elders, with their years of experience, and their extensive knowledge of Inuit traditions. Even the co-authors who are fluent in Inuktitut, and polar bear hunters themselves, found that they were learning Inuktitut terminology that they had never heard, or did not remember. This book represents what is hopefully an initial effort to record the vast knowledge that Inuit have of polar bears. It speaks to Inuit knowledge of history, tradition, and polar bear biology, behaviour, and habitat. The intent of this book is to present Inuit knowledge in context of the Inuit who were interviewed and not to interpret that knowledge according to scientific tradition. The polar bear continues to be highly valued in Inuit culture in Gjoa Haven through the activities of hunting and meat sharing. The knowledge and tradition that this continued activity maintains has provided Inuit with a unique perspective on the recent decline of polar bear numbers in their hunting area. For Uqsuqtuurmiut, this decline is related to hunting and the changing conditions of the sea-ice environment of the polar bear.

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

Polar Bear Hunting in the Central Canadian Arctic The hunting of polar bears in the study area by various groups of Inuit in the study area predates recorded history. Polar bear hunting most often occurred during winter, when seasonal movements of Inuit brought them onto the sea-ice to hunt seals. Between approximately December and May, Inuit lived in sealing villages on the sea-ice, often in the vicinity of polar bear denning areas. Before rifles were in common use, the hunting of polar bears in their dens (apumiujuksiuqtut) was the most popular way of hunting. Once rifles were exclusively in use, apumiujuksiuqtut remained a favoured method of hunting polar bears until the practice was prohibited in 1967 following imposition of government regulations. Polar bears were an integral part of traditional subsistence resources in the study area; however, not every family hunted polar bears every year. When hunted, polar bears were sometimes taken in large numbers in their dens (Farquarson 1976:44)1. The areas hunted by Inuit in the study region changed little before the establishment of permanent settlements in the late 1960s. Figures 2 and 3 show the areas where various Inuit groups hunted polar bears before settlement (prior to 1920). Pre-Trading Post Era—Before the 1920s The Kiillinirmiut of the southeast Victoria Island and Albert Edward Bay regions traditionally hunted seals on the sea-ice to the east and southeast. To the southeast, some Kiillinirmiut joined the Ahiarmiut or Perry River people around the islands of Putulik (Hat Island) and Qikiqtarjuaq (Jenny Lind Island) where both groups hunted polar bears in their dens. They also hunted at Hiuraarjuaq, one of the Royal Geographical Society Islands (Farquarson 1976:44). In addition to informants’ statements regarding earlier polar bear hunting activities, some other studies are used in this section. However, these studies were entirely based on discussions with Inuit hunters and Elders, and so extend our IQ back to earlier times in the same region of Nunavut. This reference is from the Report of the Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project, which was based on the collection of Inuit knowledge of land use. All the published sources used in this book are based on knowledge obtained directly from Inuit. 1

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

Figure 1. McClintock Channel Polar Bear Management Area as delineated by the Department of Sustainable Development.

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

Other Kiillinirmiut traveled the sea-ice east from Albert Edward Bay and hunted polar bears in their dens on the islands of Avvaq (Taylor Island), Qikiqtagafaaluk (Admirality Island) and Umingmalik (Gateshead Island) (Farquarson 1976:44). Elder Peter Apiana explained that polar bears were even hunted in the Queen Maud Gulf area, and as far east as Qikiqtarjuaq (Melbourne Island) until they started to move away due to increased human activity (A3:726728).

Figure 2: Killinirmiut, Ahiarmiut, and Illuilirmiut Hunting Areas

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

Figure 3: Nattlilingmiut Hunting Area

Before the trading posts were established, the Illuilirmiut hunted polar bears from seal hunting camps on the sea-ice in the Ugjulik area. This area of ocean corresponds to the Storis Passage and includes Putulik (Hat Island). The main area used by Nattilingmiut for seal hunting—and by extension polar bear hunting—was the Ki’muagiaq area (Brice-Bennett 1976:71-72; Bob Konana A2:133).

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

Ki’muagiaq refers to an area of ocean that includes the St. Roch Basin and Larsen Sound extending toward the McClintock Channel. Umingmalik (Gateshead Island) is considered to be in Ki’muagiaq, but it is unclear whether it encompases the waters of the McClintock as this falls beyond the normal land use area of (at least) modern Nattililingmiut and Gjoa Haven hunters (Bob Konana A2:133). The main areas exploited for polar bears during this period were: the northern end of Qikiqtaq (King William Island); the islands to the northwest such as Ujarahugjulik, Haglaarjuk, Uplutuuq, Kingiktuarjuk, Qikiqtarjuaq and possibly Kinngaq; and the mainland directly across from these areas—Hattiumaniq (west coast of Boothia). Polar bears were hunted in the northern portion of Larsen Sound by a group of Nattilingmiut who were well established around Bellot Strait, north Somerset Island and Kinngailaq (Prince of Wales Island) when Knud Rasmussen was in the study area in 1923 (Rasmussen 1931:47; Annie Arquviq A3: 538). After the Arrival of Traders—1920s to Settlement The subsistence patterns of all Inuit in the study area were impacted by the arrival of fur traders in the 1920s (See Table 2 and Fig. 4). Winter land use began to focus increasingly on the trapping of white foxes, and seal hunting camp on the sea-ice became less important. Families started to base themselves at coastal locations favourable for trapping (Farquarson 1976:46). Sealing continued as an important subsistence activity that was done with a larger group as before, or during trips to set and maintain traplines. These trapping trips also provided opportunities to hunt polar bears at their denning sites; as a result, polar bear hunting was undertaken much more frequently during this period (Farquarson 1976:47).

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

Figure 4: Fur trade posts and DEW Line sites in the Study area (* = fur trade posts; + = DEW Line sites). Table 2: Fur Trade Posts in the Study Area (Source: Usher 1971) Cambridge Bay Ellice River White Bear Point Perry River Perry River Perry River Perry River Sherman Inlet (Atanikittuq) Terror Bay Peabody Point (Malirrualik) Gjoa Haven Gjoa Haven Fort Ross

Company HBC HBC CanAlaska Trading Co. HBC Stephen Angulaalik HBC HBC Stephen Angulaalik

Duration 1923 present 1926-1927 1926-1927 1926-1928 1928-1957 1937-1941 1957-1967 1947-1955

Patrick Klengenberg HBC

1940-1944

HBC

1927present 1927-1938

CanAlaska Trading Co. HBC

1923-1927

1937-1948

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

The conversion to a trapping economy, and the stable presence of trading posts at Cambridge Bay (1923) and Perry River (1926) after the mid-1920s caused Kiillinirmiut and Ahiarmiut to gravitate towards these areas. Some Kiillinirmiut loyally traded at Cambridge Bay, whereas other Kiillinirmiut and the Ahiarmiut traded at Perry River. With the advent of the fur trade, Inuit were more affluent. As a result, firearms and ammunition were more available, and the bow and arrow fell into disuse. Wealthy Inuit acquired larger dog teams enabling them to travel faster and farther. The draw of the Perry River post caused the more affluent and mobile fur trading Inuit to use the Putulik, Qikiqtarjuaq (Jenny Lind Island) and Hiuraarjuaq areas more intensely. With the opening of an outpost of the Perry River Trading post at Atanikittuq (Sherman Inlet) in 1947, many Ahiarmiut moved into the area and used the Ugjulik area intensively. The Perry River people are Killinirmiut2. We used to meet Killinirmiut people when we were seal hunting in the winter at Ugjulik. Some Killinirmiut moved to Atanikittuq when the store opened there. The area of Ugjulik was mostly used by Killinirmiut people in the old days—even right near Quukilruq [Simpson Strait] (George Kamookak A2:133).3 In the old days they didn’t have quotas. Whatever came along they would shoot… even if they were not hunting polar bears. We hunted around Hat Island, the Royal Geographic Society Islands, and Jenny Lind and Admirality Island. They always used to travel up here for the spring and they… used to catch polar bears whenever they could. Around 1956 or 57 when I was working on the DEW line site in Hat Island people used to… give me polar bear meat. They would always hunt in the islands around Hat Island (Peter Apiana A3:716).

The mainly Nattilingmiut and Utkuhiksalingmiut population of Gjoa Haven refer to people from Perry River and Victoria Island under the same term—Killinirmiut. However, the people from the Perry River area self-identify as Ahiarmiut. They speak the same dialect of Inuktitut as the Kiillinirmiut of Victoria Island (Kiiliniq) called Inuinnaqtun. 3 All quotations from the appendices are translations from Inuktitut, unless otherwise noted. 2

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

The activation of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) system, or DEW line, in 1956 brought additional resources and trade into the region. Located on the islands of Putulik (Hat Island) and Qikiqtarjuaq (Jenny Lind Island), these stations further focused and intensified the use of the immediate area of these islands for subsistence activities, including polar bear hunting. Most Kiillinirmiut families that remained based in Albert Edward Bay moved to the vicinity of Qikiqtarjuaq (Jenny Lind Island) (Farquarson 1976:49). The installation of DEW line sites, and the resulting activity is thought to have driven away denning polar bears from these islands and even the adjacent islands of Ikaaqturijjat. Peter Apiana was employed at the Hat Island site in 1956 or 1957. When he was asked if polar bears denned on Hat Island after the DEW line was installed, he responded: [laughing] After the planes started coming… the bears didn’t show up there anymore (Peter Apiana A3:718).

The arrival of DEW line personnel in the region also signalled the beginning of a market for polar bear skins. Hunters were now able to use polar bear skins as trade for other valuable material goods. To the east, the Illuilirmiut and Nattilingmiut also become fully engaged in the fur trade economy after the 1920s. Some European trade goods were brought in slightly earlier however, with the establishment of the HBC post at Baker Lake in 1914. Before posts were established in their regions, Inuit went on trading journeys to Baker Lake (Rasmussen 1931:53). By the time Rasmussen visited in 1923, rifles were common possessions for Illuilirmiut and Nattilingmiut, although ammunition was still not consistently available (Rasmussen 1931:53). The Hudson’s Bay Company maintained a fur trade post on Qikiqtaq (King William Island) from 1923 to the present—first at Malirrualik (Peabody Point) and then at Gjoa Haven. Although the establishment of the Malirrualik trading post initially drew more Nattilingmiut into the Ugjulik area in the winters and springs of the mid-1920s, moving the post to Gjoa Haven in 1927 probably did not have much effect on traditional Nattilingmiut and Illuilirmiut land use patterns. As was the case with the Ahiarmiut and Kiillinirmiut, the Nattilingmiut and Illuilirmiut began to spend more time through the winter in favourable trapping areas in the coastal areas, and less time in sealing 42

A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

villages on the sea-ice (Brice-Bennett 1976:72). The continued use of the Ugjulik area by Illuilirmiut and some Nattilingmiut, in addition to the more intensive use of this area by Kiillinirmiut and Ahiarmiut meant that denning sites in such areas as Putulik and Hiuraarjuaq were consistently exploited. To the northeast, the Nattilingmiut continued to use the Ki’muagiaq area and to hunt the denning areas in the north end region of Qikiqtaq (King William Island) (Brice-Bennett 1976:72). According to George Kamookak, Kiillinirmiut would sometimes travel as far as the Ki’muagiaq area to hunt. It was the Nattilingmiut that used the Ki’muagiaq area, but once in a while Killinirmiut would come (George Kamookak A2:133).

Polar bears continued to be hunted in northern Ki’muagiaq by a section of the Nattilingmiut population living on Kinngailak (Prince of Wales Island) (Bob Konana A1:19; Annie Arquviq A3: 538). The occasional bear was also taken in the Kangilliniq (Rasmussen Basin) area such as Elder Bob Konana’s first bear (Bob Konana A1:2, 23). DEW line sites were also opened in the traditional territories of the Nattilingmiut and the Illuilirmiut at Shepherd Bay and Gjoa Haven respectively, and the personnel at these stations provided a ready market for polar bear skins. Bob Konana sold the skin of his first polar bear to an employee of the Shepherd Bay DEW line site for $40 around 1961. RCMP officers were also sometimes in the market for skins. Bob Konana’s second bear was traded to an RCMP officer for a .222-calibre rifle around 1962 (Bob Konana A1:72). The areas that were hunted in the study area did not change in the period between the advent of trading posts and the establishment of permanent settlement. What does seem to have happened, however, was a concentration of people in the Ugjulik area with the establishment of trading posts, and later DEW line sites. Due to this concentration, and perhaps due to the presence of a market for skins, polar bears were hunted more and more frequently in the Ugjulik region. Polar bears are no longer thought to be present in the Ugjulik/Queen Maud Gulf area (Peter Apiana 3:726-728; Bob Konana A1:24; George Kamookak A1:266). One informant held up increased human activity, including the presence of aircraft, as a reason for the absence of polar bears in the Queen Maud Gulf area in general (Peter Apiana A3:726).

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

From Settlement to the Present The aggregation of people at Gjoa Haven in the 1960s corresponded closely to the prohibition on den hunting (apumiujuksiuqtut). Cubs were no longer taken, and hunters were encouraged to take male bears and to limit their kill of females. The introduction of tags, and the relative distance of Gjoa Haven from areas frequented by polar bears, meant that hunts became more deliberate events involving a considerable investment of resources. As a hunting strategy, George Kamookak continued to travel to the areas of known polar bear dens, which provided evidence of polar bears in the area. If I was to go polar bear hunting today I would go towards Hiuraarjuaq where they used to always den, that is one way to know if there are bears in that area, to see if there are signs of dens. A long time ago people used to go to any areas to hunt before there were tags4, they would say ‘I was too late; the polar bears had left their dens’ (George Kamookak A1:261).

In the early years of settlement, the areas used by Gjoa Haven hunters were the same areas they used when they lived on the land (See Fig. 5). They travelled to the Hiuraarjuaq area, and north along the west coast of King William Island. They also travelled north from Gjoa Haven through Peel Inlet and into the traditional hunting areas in Ki’muagiaq just to the northwest of Qikiqtaq (King William Island). Travel during the early period of settlement was by dogteam until snow machine travel became common in the mid-1970s. One change to the areas hunted after settlement, is that the islands to the south-southwest of Hiuraarjuaq were no longer hunted. Even today, Ugjulik is no longer believed to have bears (Bob Konana A1:24). There used to always be polar bears in the Ugjulik area. The people who were hunting seal down there used to always see polar bears. Today it is different, you hardly hear of people seeing, sighting or seeing tracks in that area (George Kamookak A1:266).

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The introduction of tags in 1967 was part of the management program that allocated the community polar bear quota to individual hunters. 44

A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

For generations, the area to the immediate northwest of Qikiqtaq (King William Island) has been productive polar bear habitat. Knud Rasmussen was aware of this when he passed through the area in the spring of 1924. There was a fresh northeaster blowing as we passed the north coast of Matty Island, and in Wellington Strait we began to keep a look out for bears, which not infrequently come here to catch seals (Rasmussen 1931: 39).

In recent times—perhaps the last ten to fifteen years according to George Konana (A3:223) and Jackie Ameralik (A1:483)—it has become harder to find large male polar bears (Bob Konana A2:56) and hunters must travel longer distances to find mature males. Prior to this, there was no need to travel so far from the community. The west coast of the Boothia Peninsula is hunted as far north as Qikiqtat and Kinngailaq, and to the northwest of King William Island, hunters have occasionally hunted around Umingmalik; this island represents the effective limit of Gjoa Haven land use in this direction (Bob Konaaq A1:29). According to Bob Konana, the sea-ice in the middle of Larsen Sound has recently been hunted, as this is where polar bears retreat in response to snow machine traffic and hunting pressure in the traditional hunting area northwest of King William Island. There [are] usually [fewer] tracks here [in the middle of Larsen Sound] early before people go down… there is no disturbance along the shores. But when the people from Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak start hunting there seem to be more bears in the middle (Bob Konana A1:13).

George Kamookak also considers snow machine noise as a possible source of disturbance to polar bears (A2:103).

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

To summarize, Inuit polar bear hunting patterns changed only slightly after settlement in the late 1960s. Bears are understood to have moved out of the Ugjulik area shortly after the establishment of DEW line sites in the mid-1950s, and the area is no longer hunted. The Hiuraarjuaq area continues to be hunted, as does the area to the northwest of King William Island; however, in the last ten to fifteen years, mature males have been harder to find close to Gjoa Haven. There has been expansion of polar bear hunting activity throughout Larsen Sound— as far as Kinngailaq in the north, and Umingmalik to the northwest. Initially, after people settled in Gjoa Haven, there was no need to travel this far to find mature male bears.

Figure 5: Area hunted by Gjoa Haven hunters since settlement.

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

Hunting and Use of Polar Bears Apumiujuksiuqtut—Hunting Polar Bears in Dens Before the practice was prohibited, hunting polar bears in their dens—apumiujuksiuqtut—was the favoured method of hunting polar bears. It was much easier and more efficient to find and kill polar bears in their dens than chasing individual animals with dogs and on foot. George Kamookak expressed the preference for apumiujuksiuqtut. A long time ago people used to go to any areas to hunt before there were tags. They would say “I was too late, the polar bears had left their dens.” (George Kamookak, A1: 20).

Where the snow conditions were good for denning, it was not unusual to find more than one den, many of these occupied by denning females and cubs, which meant that when hunting at denning sites (apuhiriat) many animals could be killed in one area. …we used to hunt them in the den before there were tags. … catch any polar bear even if they were young. We would catch them in the den (David Aglukkaq A1:740).

Hunting in the dens was triggered by seasonal changes—when the sun started to rise again. We used to hunt females with cubs in their dens as soon as the sun starts rising. That is when females with bigger cubs come out (Bob Konana A1:102).

When seal hunting or trapping activities brought hunters in the vicinity of known polar bear denning areas, the area would be searched for evidence of dens. When searching, hunters looked for signs of the bears excavating their dens. When excavation signs were no longer visible, the urine or dung of foxes often marked dens, or dogs were used to locate the dens.

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

When the polar bears’ claw marks are gone from the snow they [Inuit hunters] would get help from their dogs or by foxes urine or turds [in finding the dens] (Bob Konana A1:89). We used to hunt with our dog teams—our lead dog, even if the weather was bad, knew what to do when it came to tracking a bear. The dogs would smell the presence of the bear by its odour and … they would follow the scent and lead us right to the den... We depended on our dogs to hunt bears and to keep us safe from them. It would have been that much more difficult to catch a bear without them. If the snow was deep and the den was barely visible … we would dig a hole and see if the bear [was] in the den … if you saw it … you had to shoot from above the den or wait for it at the entrance and kill it when it came out. Sometimes the bear would attack our dogs in defence … the dogs would be severely injured or even sometimes killed by the angry bear and they would become afraid of it and wouldn't go back near it. Some dogs can be quite hesitant to attack a bear even though they have a natural instinct to attack them (Bob Konana Video Transcript).

At a suspected den site, hunters would begin to probe using their harpoon shaft to pinpoint the location of the den, and to see if there were bears inside. If bears were inside, sometimes they would bite or claw at the harpoon shaft, and reveal themselves (Bob Konana A1:90; Annie Arquviq A3:548; George Konana A3:45). If we found that a bear has been digging into the snow then we [would] take a harpoon and try and find out if there is a bear in the den (David Aglukkaq A1:742).

This method of testing for the presence of a denning polar bear was used during the April field trip, by Elders Bob Konana and George Kamooak (see Fig. 6).

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

When an occupied den was discovered, the hunter would cut a hole through the roof of the den wide enough to allow the head of the bear to fit through. When the bear would poke its head out, it would be killed. The traditional implement for polar bear hunting was the iputuruq—a spear with a hard bone head made from a polar bear long bone (Annie Arquviq A3:562). The iputuruq continued to be used after rifles came into use (Annie Arquviq A3:560). If the hunter did not have an iputuruq they would use a sealing harpoon (unaaq), or a snow knife (pana) tied to a wooden pole. More recently rifles are being used. Figure 6: Bob Konana and Jerry Arqviq use their harpoons to test for the presence of bears in a suspected denning site.

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

When we … den hunt … when there was no moon, we would know because of [the] adgarniq (digging pile). We would find the den with the harpoon. When … [you] find a bear in the den, you make a small hole just [big] enough for the head to come out. You have a hunting spear called iputuruq (bear hunting spear). We would use that when we had no rifle... Sometimes there would be more than one [bear] in the den. After you catch the first one then you check to make sure [with the harpoon that] there is not another one. If there [was]… we would wait for the head to pop out and do the same thing to kill it. That is how we used to hunt polar bears in dens (Annie Arquviq A3:551). Figure 7: George Kamookak looking for dens.

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization If they used their harpoons to … find out if there is a polar bear in the snow, the harpoon would get stuck. Then they would make a hole above the den and the polar bear would either come up fast or just sit there, and they would shoot it in the head... Before there were rifles they would use harpoons or a piece of wood [with a snow knife attached] and that is how they would catch polar bears (Bob Konana A1:90-91).

Figure 7: Illustration of an iputuruq by Danny Aluk.

George Konana remembered hunting polar bears with his grandfather as a small boy in the mid 1960s, just before this type of hunting was prohibited. (in English)… my grandfather, … was looking for [dens]. … we were down in …. [Collinson Inlet], … where we saw dens… and then we started going further down … [toward the point—Cape Felix] ..we saw a few [dens] .. but we never saw any bears inside ... But … my grandfather was not too far from me … using a harpoon to see if there [were] polar bears .. He started yelling … and telling me that there was a bear inside… so I went over. The den was …down… [sunken in]. So I started using my harpoon—because I wanted to feel how it is… I felt it… it bit the harpoon … it was pretty strong…. Then… I pulled my harpoon out and it was kind of bent up. From there he made a hole with a shovel. A small little hole—not very big—just enough to kill a bear, I guess. I was right behind him and he was going to shoot. Just before he shot, the bear was down inside the hole and the nose just went out like that—going up higher and higher. Every time … it is a little bit higher, then my grandfather said ‘I am going to shoot now’ and … [the bear] started coming up, and that is when he shot it. … after that there was a lot of smoke in there, and he couldn’t see it… he started using his

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

harpoon again. He felt it again, and he said ‘I don’t think it is alive now’ so he opened it right up.. [the den] was not very high, maybe a couple of feet high or something. …I thought [the dens] would be really big …but some of them might be a couple of feet high… he dug it out of there and put a rope on [the bear] and pulled it out (George Konana A3:45).

After the bear was dead it was removed from inside the den using dogs. Traditionally when you killed a bear in its den, you would use the dogs to pull it out… if it was a male bear, it would take a while … because they can be very heavy when their muscles have relaxed. They would tie a rope around the bear's neck or feet and pull it out … with the help of our dogs... (Bob Konana Video Transcript).

Hunting polar bears using this method was increasingly dangerous as the season advanced. As the sun gets higher, the roof of the den is made thinner by the bears scratching at the ceiling; a hunter could fall through, or a bear could simply stand up and break through the roof. We used to go to where there was… snow build-up and sometimes we would notice where the polar bear has been digging to make a den. If there [was] no sign of digging … we would use a dog to sniff out to see if … a polar bear [was] denning. We would check with the harpoon to see... I was always told that I should use a whip. When … a polar bear has been digging and denning... you should use a whip to make a sound… the bear may stand up. Just for safety. If … the snow is really thin… some people fall through trying to use the harpoon.... If it is thick [the bears] won’t come up, but if it is thin they may come through. …[if] the snow is thick… you cut a block of snow that is thin enough just for the head to come out and then you kill it. … if the ceiling of the den is thin then [the bear will] come out. …. I have never seen anyone fall through, but I have heard of it. I have heard that if you [do] fall through, they never attack in their den (Gideon Qitsualik A1:432).

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

Apumiujuksiuqtut is still remembered well by several Elders in Gjoa Haven who have either witnessed or have been personally involved in this method of hunting. This practice is not only important to record because of its heritage value for Inuit, but also because the knowledge it has engendered can assist in determining and assessing polar bear denning habitat. Inuit knowledge of core denning areas, and Inuit skills in locating dens and probing for the presence of denning bears are the direct result of this practice. However, the number of individuals who are knowledgeable and experienced in Apumiujuksiuqtut, are few, and these skills and knowledge will have to be passed on to the younger generations if they are to be preserved.

Figure 8: Hunter strikes with Iputuruq as a Polar Bear leaves its den. Illustrated by Danny Aluk.

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

My father used to catch polar bears on the [south-east] tip of Hiuraarjuaq in the dens. He walked down with just his harpoon and pana (snow knife) but he couldn’t kill [them]. He was walking where there were denning areas and the polar bear just stuck his head up. He was [checking] with the harpoon to see it was there—they had no gun. Another time I was walking around where polar bears were denning and I noticed that there was a polar bear half way out of its den (George Kamookak A1: 272).

Annie Arquviq explained that hunting at the dens was also understood to be dangerous during the bright stages of the moon, as the den ceilings would be made thinner by bears at these times. They used to tell us not to polar bear hunt right after the moon or just when the moon is up [when it is bright]…. because the polar bears go higher in their dens. Right after the moon we know that the polar bear has gone higher. … and the top would be really thin. That is why we shouldn’t den hunt then (Annie Arquviq A 3: 548).

Hunting by Dog Team While hunting in the den was the preferred method, polar bears were also hunted out in the open by dog team, either intentionally or opportunistically when fresh tracks were encountered while seal hunting or traveling. In the days before Inuit could afford to maintain large dog teams, they would loosen their dog or dogs to chase the bear while the hunter (or hunters) followed on foot. The trapping economy allowed hunters to have larger dog teams by the mid-twentieth century, and bears could be simply run down. Once the hunter caught up to the bear that was held at bay by the dogs, he would kill it using the bear spear or iputuruq. If the hunt happened unexpectedly, and the hunter did not have an iputuruq, a sealing harpoon or snow knife lashed to a stick could also be used.

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

Figure 9: Hunting polar bears in the open with dogs. Illustrated by Danny Aluk.

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

It is different den hunting vs. hunting in an open area. It is a different way of hunting bears. We would spot a bear when we would be travelling or hunting... Even when we were not trying to polar bear hunt, when we were travelling with the dog team, if we came across polar bear tracks, we would follow the bear. Even if it’s hard to track on a hard surface, even if you can’t see the … tracks, if it is kind of fresh, the dogs would know the track… the dogs would follow… since the dogs were trained to hunt animals, even if it was not a bear but something else. If they [couldn’t] see the animal they would follow the tracks [by scent]. If we were tracking a bear, or we spotted a bear and were tracking it, if the hunter was in a rush [he] would just cut the ropes of the dog team. If he was not in a rush, he would take the harnesses off. If he could not catch up to the bear with the dog team, then he would cut the ropes. [It was] the only way he could catch up to the bear. Even [with] just one dog, if he is used to polar bears, he can stop a bear. … If he can’t, he will need the help of another dog. Even if there [are] lots of dogs he won’t stop. If the dogs get in front of him he won’t stop, but if the dogs stay behind him he will stop…. The dogs catch up to the bear… the hunter … catches up and then they would hunt with the iputuruq… sometimes they would spot a bear even when they were not trying to polar bear hunt. If they left their hunting spear [iputuruq] then they would use a harpoon [unaaq]… if they don’t have a harpoon they would use a snow knife tied onto a stick for a handle. By spearing the bear …. they used to kill it (Annie Arquviq A3:562). When we had dog teams, when we were seal hunting or travelling and we saw a polar bear we would loosen the dogs to bring the polar bear to bay, and the men would run after it. Sometimes when they … found a fresh track they would track them down with the dog team. In recent years when people still had dog teams and had lots of dogs they would just run them down with the dogs if it was smooth ice. But if it [was] rough ice, they would just loosen the dogs (Bob Konana A1:196).

Danish ethnographer Knud Rasmussen commented on the use of dogs to hunt polar bears based on his 1923 visit to the study area. He described the hunting of polar bears by dog team as opportunistic, not realizing that bears were actively and intentionally sought both in the den and in the open using the iputuruq.

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

... they never went out for the sole purpose of hunting bear as they do for instance in North Greenland, the reason being that they were not dog-drivers in the same sense as in other Eskimo regions, for even those who had dogs usually had to run or walk. Consequently, bear hunts were mostly quite accidental. Sometimes when out sealing at the breathing holes a bear track would be found, and, if fresh, the hunter started out to trail it with his dogs on the leash and armed solely with his sealing harpoon. The pursuit went at a run and might last whole days; and when at last he had caught up with the bear, and the dog—or only rarely dogs—had rounded it up, the fight started with the harpoon alone; in former times especially, when one only had horn harpoons and not the long, slender heads of round iron of to-day, it was a dangerous and difficult venture. In any case it was a fight at close quarters, often resulting in scratches, if not wounds and broken bones that set their mark upon the hunter for life (Rasmussen 1931:183).

Mary Kamookak described being along on a polar bear hunt that used this method when she was a young girl in the mid-1940s. We [went] polar bear hunting about four times when I was young. We used to go as a family … the first time when I was about 7 years old. We [would] go by dogteam only then and we used to go out with my uncle David Aglukkaq. We used to go down towards Hiuraarjuaq and that little island with the marker [Napaqtilik] and it used to be really rough ice …. a lot of old ice. The new ice was where it was really rough, but the old ice was where it was smooth. When we saw a polar bear we would let the dogs loose and they would chase the polar bear and the men would follow on foot (Mary Kamookak A1:274).

With larger dog teams that allowed hunters to move swiftly when tracking polar bears, the practice of loosening the dogs was still used when the polar bears entered impassable areas of rough ice.

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

The first time I ever hunted polar bears was by dog team. When we follow a polar bear track by dog team a human being alone can’t catch up to a polar bear. To catch up … we let the dogs loose. From what I heard from other people, the way to hunt the polar bear is to chase it by dog team first. If you can see the polar bear and if you get to the rough ice, then you let the dogs loose and follow the dogs on foot. …. It used to be fun hunting polar bear by dog team. You let the dogs loose and you don’t see them for a while. When they are over rough ice and a ridge and you can’t see where the dog team is... I have hunted polar bear by myself [alone] only twice by dog team (Paul Eleeheetook A1:540).

Like apumiujuksiuqtut, hunting polar bears by dog team is a part of a rich Inuit hunting heritage to be cherished. Traditionally, both methods put hunters in close proximity to polar bears with hand-held implements. The resultant incidents have contributed to the experience and knowledge that a few hunters have of polar bear behaviour that can be helpful for the safety of hunters in the future (see below). Current Hunting Methods Since the mid-1970s, snow machines have been used in hunting. The machines allow hunters to cover long distances in a short period of time, and to track polar bears quickly. When bears are sighted, they can be outpaced quickly with the machine, and they are usually encountered standing still, having become overheated. Polar bears [are] a little different [than caribou]. They don’t run for a long time. They run for a little while, then they are tired already, maybe because they are big. When a tired polar bear collapses on the snow it doesn’t mean [it] is … tired; it just means [it] is too hot and [it will] just lay on the ice flat on its belly (Bob Konana A2:213).

For this reason, polar bears tend to be shot at close range. Once sighted, a quick approach and kill is preferred because just as for other animals, if a bear is pursued to exhaustion, the meat does not taste as good.

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization (in English) The ones I shoot, I usually go ahead of them and they are standing already. Somebody tried to tell me to try and catch them right away. I was wondering why I had to catch them right away, and [not] let them run for a long time. …. One of the polar bear hunters I used to go with was named Jacob Itqiliq—my uncle—he is gone now.. He used to tell me …[not to] let the polar bear run for long. Try to catch it right away. But he didn’t tell me why. And I started noticing later, when you catch it earlier it tastes better. It is not so tired (Jerry Arqviq A3:459).

Modern methods used by hunters on personal polar bear hunts, or even guided hunts, continue to use IQ related to polar bear habitat and tracking; however, other skills and knowledge are not being maintained. For instance, identifying or locating dens is no longer part of polar bear hunting, and young hunters may not have an opportunity to learn these skills in the future. Hunter and polar Bear – Photo courtesy Rick Riewe (fr. Nunavut Atlas, 1997:194)

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

Tradition, Culture, and Beliefs The Cultural Value of Polar Bear Meat Animals are valued generally for food by Inuit as they are seen as a more nutritious and a less expensive alternative to store-bought foods. ...as a young person I have always enjoyed hunting. I have been raised to eat country foods and I still eat a lot of land and sea mammals. I not only go out hunting because I enjoy it; I go out because we have to eat. We love to eat a variety of country foods for they are nutritious and the best to eat and we depend on them. They are cheaper than store bought foods and better to eat for me so I will keep eating them (Bob Konana Video Transcript).

When asked why it was important that she continue to eat polar bear meat, Mary Takkiruq replied: We were eating polar bear ever since we were growing up and it is our traditional food … that is why we like to eat polar bear meat. …I know that there are a lot of people who like polar bear meat, and a lot of people who don’t like [it] (Mary Takkiruq A3:675).

Polar bear meat and other country foods are what Inummariit—‘real’ Inuit—eat. All Inuit recognize this as true, whether they like to eat polar bear meat or not. For some, like Annie Arquviq, polar bear tastes as good as other animals. Of all the different types of animals I eat, I like them all and they all taste different. I also like polar bear meat … when they said we can’t catch polar bear in Gjoa Haven any more in my mind I said: ‘why do you have to stop polar bear hunting?’ In my mind I said: ‘I am not going to have polar bear for a long time.’ (Annie Arquviq A3:617).

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

For others, like Mary Takkiruq, polar bear meat is their favourite. It is one of our favourite meat—polar bear. We ate polar bear when we were raised … frozen … or cooked. I have not heard of anyone eating fresh—non-frozen meat. It is very good frozen and cooked. It is one of my favourite meats. If I could eat it every day I couldn’t see it stop coming. Almost the whole polar bear is good, even the paws (Mary Takkiruq A3:653).

Many younger people like George Konana also consider polar bear meat to be their favourite. (in English) Oh it is one of the best meats I have ever had… polar bear. It is one of the best ones …. when you first eat it, it is good, but sometimes … you get sick of the meat … after you eat it for quite a while. Not like … other meat you eat. …I guess we don’t eat it often, [like] seal, or caribou, or muskox … most of the time that is what we eat... But polar bear it is different. If that is the only meat you have it gets kind of tiring [to eat]… (George Konana A3:183).

As George explains, polar bear meat differs from other staple meats, in that one can become weary of eating it. It may be due to its strong taste and unique flavour. This, combined with the rare and seasonal opportunities to eat polar bear meat, make it a culturally esteemed delicacy. When asked why he thought Inuit need to continue to eat polar bear meat, Jerry Arqviq replied: (in English) I guess they are used to eating polar bear meat and it is their traditional food … I know a lot of people that like to eat different kinds of meat all the time, and polar bear is one of their favourite meals (Jerry Arqviq A3:499).

Of the different parts of the polar bear, the paws seem to be a particularly favoured dish. I like the feet, but just about any part of the polar bear is good, even the fat (Mary Takkiruq A3:655).

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization The front and the back paws are called tukiq. They are the best eating (Bob Konona A2:190).

Annie Arquviq expressed a preference for the meat of a polar bear that was in the den when killed. Even the bears can taste different. I like the den polar bears instead of a bear caught in the open. I find the den polar bears taste better than those caught outside (Annie Arquviq A3:617).

Polar bear meat is an esteemed and rare food, which is essentially Inuit. Eating polar bear meat is fundamental to Inuit identity. Sharing of Polar Bear Meat Polar bear meat has been freely and systematically shared throughout the community from time immemorial. The traditional method of sharing polar bear meat is called ningiqtuq, which also applies to the sharing of bearded seal (ugjuk). …we do that with bear and ugjuk. It is called ningiqtuq. The bear is caught. Whoever is the first person to meet the hunter would get one hindquarter (mimiq). The second would get the other side… The third would get the lower back (kuujaq). Kuujaqsaqtuq is the term for the person getting that part. Mimaqtuq is the term for the first two who get the hindquarters…The most important [are] the first three people. [They] would get the most meat. …[others] would also get some meat [when] someone caught a polar bear (George Kamookak A2:167-171). They used to share their meat a lot in the old days when we were hunting by dog team, if there was more than one person chasing the polar bear. Whoever is behind the one that is ahead is hoping [for] the first [to] catch a bear; they know they are going to get some meat from the person who is going to catch the bear. Even if you can’t see the person running ahead of you, you still follow his track, because you know that you are going to get something. The two people … running ahead, … would

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

both get hind legs. The people … behind them would get the smaller pieces of meat. They would run and try to get there ahead of each other. The first one that caught up to the successful hunter would get a hind leg. That is what they used to do with the bigger animals. Long ago they used to even cut up the skin if the people that were running after wanted some skin. (Annie Arquviq A3:619).

In the ningiqtuq method of sharing the most immediate hunting companions receive the choicest pieces of meat. The first two arrivals or hunting companions would receive a hindquarter (mimiq) and they would be mimaqtuq—the one who received a hindquarter. George Kamookak remembered that the third would receive the lower back (kuujaq), and would be kuujaqsaqtuq— the one who received the lower back. The bear would be given out in smaller pieces to all those who came to take a share. As Annie Arquviq describes above, in the past this sharing might even extend to the skin, which was sometimes cut up and distributed. The application of ningiqtuq to the sharing of bearded seal differs slightly from the sharing of polar bear, as the choicest parts were reckoned differently. Annie: Even ugjuit are divided up like this… They watch out for each other when they are seal hunting [mauqhuktut] for ugjuk. The person that would catch the ugjuk would wave his hand and the one that would see him first would start running. They race to the person with the ugjuk, because they know they are going to get a bigger piece if they get there first. The first one … would get almost the whole half, right from the shoulder to the flipper. We would call this kuinaqtuq. Darren: What is that? Jerry: That is the biggest piece, from the shoulder to the flipper. Annie: Kuinaqtuq is the person who gets there first. Everyone else that gets there after gets a share but they get a smaller piece. They all would get strips of the skin when they cut up the skin for ropes. Everyone always got a share. That is how they used to share their animals (Annie Arquviq A3:623).

The ethnographer, Knud Rasmussen in 1924, also recorded this practice among the Nattilingmiut. When a bearded seal was caught:

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization The one who made the catch gets the neck and a piece of the hide, of which he will make seal thongs, and a large piece of the blubber that lies across the animal’s back. The other part of the animal is divided in this way: the man that arrives first at the spot receives one half of the forequarter, i.e., a rib joint with one fore flipper, the next the other half, the third one side of the hindquarters, the fourth the other side, and so on (Rasmussen 1931:163).

Today the tradition of ninginqtuq continues in the distribution and sharing of polar bear meat. Hunters continue to share the hindquarters (mimiq) with their hunting companions in accordance with tradition. When a successful hunter arrives in Gjoa Haven with polar bear meat, it is common practice for him to go on the local radio station and over the CB radio to inform the public to come and take a share. Some people are also contacted directly by phone (George Konana A3:181). Elders are given priority in the distribution of polar bear meat in town. Jerry Arqviq, a Gjoa Haven hunter in his early 40s, described how he shares polar bear meat: Jerry (in English): My polar bear meats... When I get them home. We just call on radio or CB ‘if anyone wants polar bear meat, come and get some.’ We just cut it up and just get people to help themselves for what they want. That is how we give our meat away. Darren: What about the person you go with? Jerry: The … last one I went with was Ben Putuguq. He was the first one to catch a bear and he gave me a hind leg. When I catch my bear, I gave him a hind leg. Darren: Is that usual? Jerry: The ones we used to hear, yes. That is the way we have to do it. Darren: So you give him the hind leg because of tradition? Jerry: Yes. Darren: So that’s... what do you call it again? Jerry: Ningiqtuq (Jerry Arqviq A3:471-479).

When Elder Mary Takkiruq was asked if people still continue to share like this, in the same way since moving to Gjoa Haven, she answered:

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

They still do this even when there are rifles now. They still give out meat to [the] person they hunt with. And they come to town and give out the meat. When they get to the town of Gjoa Haven if there are leftovers from the hunt they still give it out. The person that caught the polar bear asks people to come and get meat (Mary Takkiruq A3 651).

Annie Arquviq described above how in the past the polar bear skin might also be shared with other people in the camp. The skin was valuable at that time for use in many ways that will be discussed further in this text. However, since the advent of a cash market for polar bear skins, most skins are sold and not kept for other uses. Therefore the skins themselves are no longer shared, although the cash derived from trading a skin might be shared with extended family either directly, or in the form of purchased goods or equipment. Elder Peter Apiana found another significant difference in the way polar bear meat, and other game, is shared today when compared to the past. He feels that people do not come freely to take a share in the game that is brought in by hunters. Instead, they have to be invited to take some. Peter: If you saw a person coming home with a polar bear, [everyone goes] to that person. The first … gets a hindquarter and the second person gets another quarter. But I don’t know how it works exactly. It was the same with bearded seal. We always used to race, [and] try [to] get to the hunter first to get the best part of the meat. In the old days … they always used to give out meat to other people, but after the quotas they don’t seem to do that anymore. …they used to give it out to the Elders. Now if I come in with a load of animals, [no-one comes to] … pick up a piece of meat. …in the old days, when someone came in they always used to go pick up meat for themselves.... Darren: That is interesting but I heard that people go on the radio when they come in. Jackie [continuing to clarify Peter’s point]: Yes through the radio, but in the old days they didn’t have radios ... if someone sees me coming in with a load of animals, they won’t [come] and pick any up. Now you have to tell them to come and pick some up (Peter Apiana A3: 783-785).

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

The details of the tradition of ningiqtuq may have changed somewhat in the years since the establishment of a market for polar bear skins and the establishment of large communities. However, polar bear meat continues to be shared widely in the community of Gjoa Haven, so much so that it is quickly eaten (Jerry Arqviq A3:471). Ningiqtuq, as it relates to the sharing of bearded seals, has also changed according to Annie Arquviq. When asked if people still practice ningiqtuq with bearded seals she replied: They still give out meat [as] it used to be in the old days. The older guys used to divide them nicely—giving the fat, skin, meat. Nowadays people just take what they take and … just divide them any way. We used to divide the ringed seals … now they don’t divide the seals like they used to do (Annie Arquviq A3:630).

In addition to ningiqtuq, there is a tradition that the meat of the first kill of a young person would be completely shared among the people. This showed respect to the animal and would bode well for the future hunting success of the young person. [I caught] my first seal … in Aqiggiqtuuq when I was a kid. I was the happiest boy. I had to turn away from my parents to smile. Anything I looked at, I wanted to smile. [As] I was a young boy, I let my father pull [the seal] out for me. After a few minutes, I wasn’t happy anymore. My dad started cutting it up and … giving it to the dogs and to the people. I was not happy anymore because it looked ugly… at first it looked so nice… . It was a tradition of the old times when we caught our first seal. My father did what he had to do. He cut it up and gave it to the dogs and … to the people. There is a meaning for that. My father wanted me to catch a seal every once in a while… We would do the same thing … with someone’s first bear catch. The reason was for it to be easy for them to catch something next time… It doesn’t happen to all the people... I am not sure how the animals think or how the people think. It is a tradition of long ago. We follow the tradition … [but] it doesn’t happen to all those kids who catch their first animals. Most parents want the best for their kids, but it doesn’t happen to all of them. It is just a tradition for the first catch (Bob Konana A2:80).

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

As mentioned by Bob Konana above, the tradition of sharing the first kill of a young person was also extended to the first polar bear. When Jerry Arqviq got his first polar bear in 1975 when he was 16 years old, his parents gave out all the meat in accordance with tradition. Jerry only kept the skin. When he was asked if his parents celebrated his first polar bear catch, he answered: When we brought it home to Taloyoak they gave all the meat out … even [sent] some over to Gjoa Haven. We gave all the meat out and we had nothing left (Jerry Arqviq A3:281).

Polar bear meat is a culturally valued food, and it is shared accordingly. Elders, as respected individuals who are known to crave polar bear meat are given preference in the distribution. Otherwise, community members seem to be invited openly to take a share of the meat, although closer analysis may reveal that it is shared according to kinship-based rules (see Wenzel 1983:93). Processing and Uses of Polar Bear Parts After a polar bear has been killed, it is very important that the liver is removed immediately because if it is left in it will spoil the meat, and even the hair. ... you have to take the liver out right away because if you are not going to skin it for a few minutes, it is going to spoil the meat. When they used to use dog teams and … were not far from camp … and … were going to drag it back to camp to skin it, they would remove the liver first. But … when I started going hunting I would usually just skin them right on the spot and remove the liver next (Bob Konaaq A1:52). When my father caught polar bear, he would remove the liver right away because it is dangerous to leave it in long. One time my uncle caught one that was so heavy that he couldn’t roll it, so he could not remove the liver. When he returned to the bear and opened it up, the meat was ruined. It was all purple. If you are not going to skin a polar bear—even for a short period—you have to [remove the liver] (George Kamookak A1:331).

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

…and when it was killed they would try to skin it right away and take the liver out, because I heard that the liver can easily take the fur off the polar bear skin if it stays in too long, because the bear liver is too strong (Mary Takkiruq A3:646).

If the liver has been removed, the bear can be skinned and the meat butchered at the hunter’s leisure. Polar bear parts had many uses in the period before the fur trade economy. Before the demand for polar bear skins was created by the establishment of the Distance Early Warning (DEW) line, skins were used for clothing. Before there were tags5 we used to always hunt [polar bear] mainly for food. There was not a good market for the furs so we would use the [skins] for clothing and … mainly for meat. Back then we used to always eat frozen polar bear meat. People used to eat any kind of meat back then. It was good … when I was young, I used to eat frozen polar bear meat. (Bob Konana A1:56).

The use of polar bear skins for clothing among the Nattilingmiut was recorded by British explorer John Ross in the 1820s. Rasmussen remarked on the absence of polar bear skin clothing during his visit in 1923 (although according to Bob Konana’s quote above, the practice did continue): While I was in the district I did not meet a single person with clothing of bear skin, but it seems to have been very common during Ross’ stay, for not only did they use bearskin trousers as in North-Greenland, but the great bear hunters seemed to have considered it an honour to have coat, trousers and footwear of this material. It was heavy and stiff, but looked very impressive (Rasmussen 1931:6).

5 As noted in the first section, tags are part of the management program. Each hunter must possess a ‘tag’ before a polar bear can be taken. The number of tags each community possesses represents the annual polar bear quota allocated to that community by the central management authority.

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

Annie Arquviq explained that polar bear skin was used to make mitts and pants (A3:595). In fact, the chair of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization, Louie Kamookak, still wears polar bear skin pants for hunting. Skins were also used as a mattress or atliniq. Small pieces were used for icing the mudded runners of the qamutik (sled). And the entire bearskin could also be used as a sled (qamutik) when the weather turned too warm in the spring (Rasmussen 1931:25), or when one did not have materials to build a qamutik. We would use them as sled. A full skin would be used as a sled—load it up with all our gear and tie it up. It is called qimuqtitaut (Annie Arqviq A3:597). We have always hunted [polar bears]… we used to use the skins for clothing and … for bedding because their skins are not as soft as caribou or muskox skins and [they don’t] get wet as easily so they were used for mattresses … our ancestors totally depended on [polar bears] for everything—from food to clothing to transportation— and they hunted them with just harpoons, bows and arrows or knives. They would make sleds from the polar bear skins and use them to pull their belongings, because [the skins] slid well over the ice and snow. When some materials for sleds were not available, they would use the skins. …today, if we could get a bear, I wouldn't mind getting one (Bob Konaaq Video Transcript).

A small piece of polar bear skin was also used to aid hunters in stalking basking seals (auktuq). The skin would slide well and would not get wet on the spring ice. We even used to use them for seal hunting when we were crawling up to see … we would slide on a polar bear skin (Annie Arquviq A3:597).

When fastened to the end of a stick, a small piece of polar bear skin was used to pick lice off the body. This tool was called a kumakhiut (Peter Apiana A3:773).

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization We would use them to take off lice. You would use a thin stick and tie a strip of polar bear skin on the end. You would stick this in your jacket and in your socks to pick up lice. It was called a kumakhiut (Annie Arquviq A3:597).

The long bones of the polar bear were also used to make different tools in the past such as a meat fork, projectile points, skin scrapers, and wound plugs for seals: The bones of the forelegs were used for tools such as scrapers. And the skinny foreleg bone would be used as a fork for moving the meat around when cooking it. …the strong bones would be used as spearheads and bow and arrowheads because they are hard and sharp. The bones of the legs used to be used as scrapers for scraping seal and caribou skins …The skin scrapers were made out of the qukturaq [femur]. They are the widest [bones] and the easiest to make [scrapers] from (George Kamookak A2:190). The jaws [agliruq] of the polar bear were used for scraping skins [tahijuut] (Annie Arquviq A3:590). We used a lot of bones when they were hard… any kind of bones—polar bear, muskox, caribou. Polar bear bones were used as long as they were hard. They used the hind legs—top and bottom [bones] … for fish called qupqaut and for plugging the wounds of seals called tuputaq. We tried to save the blood of seals, so the wound [would be] plugged. The tuputaq were small … we made them … like needles [with] a little ball on the end so they wouldn’t go through [the skin]. On the bottom leg, that small thin bone in the back called amillraq were used for forks in cooking boiling meat. Some other bones were used for other things (Annie Arquviq A3: 585). The hind leg bones—the quqtiraq [femur] and atiraq [tibia]—or the fore leg bone aqsatquit [humerus], was used to make the point of the iputuruq or bear spear (Annie Arquviq A3: 585).

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

Ribs were used to make the bow drill, and also as back scratchers. The canine teeth were used for different purposes as well: …they would use them as Iqaluuraq—a fishing lure that looks like a fish. It was carved from a tuluriaq [canine] … [we] also used them for a haniruaq—a toggle-hook to put on the line out to the dogteam from the qamutik. They used them for other little things—for seal hunting and other little handles (George Kamookak A2:190). We used the teeth for fishing. [The tool] is called iqaluuraq (Annie Arquviq A3:36).

The different parts of a polar bear had important uses for Inuit in the past. With the arrival of modern materials and firearms, many of these uses are no longer practiced. The skin is one important exception, as it is still valued as a bedding skin, or for making clothing. However, the value of the skin for trade means that it is rarely used this way today. ...I want to mention that the animal hide of the polar bear, before we had tags, [were] used …. for clothes, sleds and for anything. But these days … we can’t take anything from the hide anymore, because we don’t want to cut them, and spoil the hide because of the price (George Kamookak A2:101).

Prices for polar bear skins are presently priced around $100- $120 per foot for a good quality skin. The cash value of skins allows hunters to partially offset the cost of their hunting outfit (Wenzel and Bourgoin, n.d.). Beliefs In Inuit legend, the first polar bear was originally a human. Because of this, if a hunter found that something was strange about an individual polar bear, it would not be eaten. Traditionally a person who was feeling sick was not supposed to eat polar bear meat, as this would make their illness worse.

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization Mary: There are legend[s] …. that the polar bear came from the people, that they were once people. That is a legend that has been passed down. George: There is also a belief that if you think there is something strange about a polar bear then you don’t eat the meat. Mary: And if you are feeling ill you were never told to eat polar bear meat. They always say that if you are sick and you eat them then you get worse. Darren: Why? Mary: Because they believe that they came from the human. The first polar bear was a human that turned into a polar bear. That is where we believe that they came from. We hardly eat them when they are raw, but we eat them when they are frozen. I remember when we didn’t have enough food left we used to eat them frozen (Mary and George Kamookak A1:322-326).

Traditional Inuit ethics demands that all animals be treated with respect. They are not to be bothered unless they are to be killed, and if they are killed, their bodies are to be treated respectfully afterwards. To transgress this ethic was to invite misfortune on yourself and the members of your camp. …you have to be gentle how you treat an animal. My parents used to say, ‘if you are going to kill it, kill it right away. Treat it nice. Even if it is a small animal. If you are not going to kill it, leave it right away and don’t bother it.’ That is what they used to tell me when I was a kid. It was to help me be a good hunter. Traditionally that is what you had to do because we learned from the past. We noticed if someone doesn’t treat animals right—small or big—their lives change, or they don’t live as long. Or they get sick. That doesn’t happen to a lot of people, just a few. For the people who don’t treat the animal right, it depends how they react to the animal. Even if you just laugh at the wounded animal, or how you bother the animal, that effects your life. You might not notice it, but it happens to a person. Just by laughing at the animal, or bothering a wounded animal, something will happen (Bob Konana A2:92-93).

Traditional observances were followed after the killing of many animals (tiriguhuktut) and even fish. These rituals would show the respect that the hunter and the community had for the

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

animal’s spirit, and they were practiced in the hope that the animals would look favourably on the people and give themselves again to the hunters. Although not remembered by any of the people interviewed during this project, the traditional observance for the polar bear was elaborate and is testimony to the high level of respect that was given the polar bear as a species. The killing of a polar bear warranted the observance of a death taboo, and Rasmussen recorded this Nattilingmiut practice in 1924: When a bear has been killed, its soul remains at the point of the harpoon head for four days if it is a he-bear, and five days if it is a she-bear. Its soul is very dangerous during the days when it sojourns in the weapon that killed it and, if offended, might become an evil spirit that will persecute man with sickness and distress. To avoid the following customs must be observed for a period of four or five days, according to the sex of the animal: When the skin has been flayed off, leaving the skull in the skin, it is to be taken inside and hung up by the nostrils in the snow hut. If it is a he, various men’s implements such as knives, tools, harpoon heads and the like must be hung up near the skin; if it is a she, women’s knives, cooking utensils and the like are hung up. As long as this death taboo for the soul of the bear is being observed, no man’s or woman’s work must be done, nor may fuel be gathered or peat be cut for shoeing the sledge. There must be no sewing of new garments, only the most necessary repairs being allowed. The skin is hung up in the house with the hair-side out. Inside must be hung the animal’s bladder, spleen, tongue and genitals, together with those presents that are made to the soul of the bear. As soon as the taboo is over, children must throw the various gifts to the soul out on the floor and afterwards compete in picking them up again. The one who can collect them most quickly will be a clever bear hunter. The bear is considered to be a dangerous animal, hence the holding of this special death taboo (Rasmussen 1931:183/84).

The polar bear being a dangerous animal, there was always the possibility of a person being attacked during their lifetime. For this reason, Inuit would try to protect their children from this 74

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fate by preparing them when they are young either by Piguhiqtuq or Anguat. Piguhiqtuq is the practice of ‘working on’ a child by telling them that they will be a certain way when they get older. Annie Arquviq’s father was ‘worked on’ in this way: I have never seen or heard of him getting so close to a bear [that he would be injured]. But he has been really close to a bear, he had been worked on in the traditional way. When he was newborn he was worked on. His parents said to him how he should hunt (Annie Arquviq A3: 570). I have heard people work something on their kids or talk to their kids when someone else is listening. They used to say ‘he can’t be chased by a bear or be bit by a bear or be chased by a muskox’ or any dangerous animal. I heard of these things, but I never really saw it or worked on anybody (Annie Arquviq A3:594).

Anguat, or amulets could also be used in an effort to protect a young person from being attacked by a polar bear. I only noticed they get worked on and they put anguat on so that they won’t get chased when they grow up. And for girls they put anguat so that the bear won’t come into their iglu (Annie Arquviq A3:576).

Although parents could try to protect their children from being attacked by polar bears, it was also up to a person to act respectfully toward the bears in their daily life. As polar bears were understood to be omniscient, one was not to speak boastfully about how they were going to kill a polar bear, nor were they to verbalize their wish to kill a polar bear. This belief was personally observed by George Wenzel in Clyde River. Clyde hunters consistently stated that the polar bear was fully as intelligent as a human being and that it understood when it was being ridiculed or belittled. On the 42 polar bear hunts I observed while in the eastern Baffin area, virtually every hunter reminded me never to joke about bears because to do so would bring misfortune in polar bear hunting (Wenzel 1983:94).

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

This holds true for all the animals, as they were understood to be free to give themselves to the hunter, and if the hunter boasted that they were going to kill an animal, the spirit of the animal could become angered and withhold itself from the hunter and other members of his camp. In the case of a polar bear, one could either be unsuccessful or be attacked as the result of being boastful. Mary: There was also a saying—even if you want to see a polar bear you were not to say ‘I wish I could see a polar bear’ or ‘I wish I could kill a polar bear this way or that way,’ because the polar bear will probably end up killing you before you get a chance to kill [it]. Darren: Do they hear? George: They always say they are very smart and they know. Mary: And you cannot boast—say this is what I should do with a polar bear, this is how I will stab him or how I will shoot him (Mary and George Kamookak A1:342-345).

The polar bears are always aware of what is happening in human activities, and therefore one must be careful not to offend them when eating their meat. Some, like Jerry Arqvik, remembered being told in their youth that they were not to bite off a piece of polar bear meat to chew. To be respectful one had to use a knife: Jerry (in English): …when I was … eating polar bear as a kid, they told me ‘use a knife’. But I didn’t want to use a knife. One old guy told me that ‘you have to use a knife...you are going to want to hunt some day.’ I didn’t care at that time. Why do I have to use a knife. Now I notice that when I see polar bears, [they] don’t even want to look at me. They don’t seem to care for me. I know some other people that get maliktaujuq by polar bear. Darren: What does that mean? Jerry: Get chased. Nobody ever used to tell me why they get chased. One old guy used to tell me, if you don’t use a knife, polar bear, muskox or wolf is going to chase you (Jerry Arqviq A3:509-511).

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization Mary: There is only a belief or a saying that if you are eating polar bear meat, you don’t chew it; you have to use a knife George: We believe that if you are bitten by a polar bear they will start chewing you if you always chew on their meat (Mary and George Kamookak A1:337-338).

In addition to the meat, the ribs were not to be chewed: When I was a child my parents used to tell me when we were having polar bear meat never to chew the meat or … the soft bones (ribs). If you do that, you may be attacked by a polar bear (Bob Konana A2:90).

When a person first ate polar bear meat, they were not to talk about the meat as being ‘tasty.’ This would be offensive to the polar bear and result in a future attack. There is another saying that when you first eat a polar bear you are told not to say that it tastes really good when you are eating it. Polar bears are very smart; they have different behaviours for different people. For some people, they would be afraid and they would not try to attack, but for others they would try to attack (Mary Kamookak A1:341).

As Mary Kamookak discusses above, people are said to be different in how they are seen by polar bears. Some people such as Bob Konana understand that they are not the type of person that gets attacked by polar bears. There [are] different people that polar bears don’t attack … and there are others that [who] are attacked. When people know that they won’t be attacked, they can just kill them with their snow knives... Even myself, I don’t get chased … they don’t seem to notice me or that I am there. That is just the way they are. They are animals (Bob Konaaq A1:58).

Elder David Aglukkaq, however, is well known in Gjoa Haven as an individual whom polar bears attack. His niece Mary Kamookak remembers: 77

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

When my father used to go hunting—and though he was a lot shorter than my uncle— the polar bears would try to go for my uncle and totally ignore the other person. One time a bear broke into my father’s iglu while he was out trapping with my uncle and the bear tore up my uncle’s kamiiks [David Aglukkaq’s boots] and totally ignored my father’s things. So they know even whose things they are. It is different behaviour for different people. Like when I told you earlier when my dad ran face to face with a polar bear, the bear ran away. If that had been my uncle, the polar bear would have been attacking. They always say that polar bears are very smart and they know. Some are more aggressive than others (Mary Kamookak A1:345-346).

When asked why the polar bear only wanted his kamiik (skin boots), David Aglukkaq replied: I think the polar bear wants me. When I was a kid my father said if I ever see a polar bear the polar bear is going to look at you. I used to always hear my father talking like that. Maybe he was thinking that polar bears would always try to attack me. The parents were different in those days. Some parents would try any way to protect their child by anything. Anguat (amulets) or anything. They would hope that their son would have good luck (David Aglukkaq A1:751).

David Aglukkaq describes the polar bears’ attentiveness to him as a detriment when hunting polar bears: When we were hunting polar bears... When I was ahead the polar bears [kept] looking back and noticing me. But when Qukshuut was with me and he was ahead, the polar bears didn’t seem to notice that there was anyone chasing them. So whenever we were getting close to a polar bear, I was always told to go behind (David Aglukkaq A1:743).

The idea that some people are susceptible to being attacked by polar bears is still believed today. During the field trip north of King William Island, Bob Konana explained that he was

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uncomfortable getting close to too many bears with so many people in the party, as one of the group could be the type of person who would be attacked. Another tradition for the first polar bear kill was for the hunter to keep the skull. When asked why this was done, Bob Konana replied: There are a couple of reasons. When the parents want their child to keep the skull of their first catch, [they] work on the head and polish it. They let them keep the skull of their first catch. Many people wanted to buy the one that David has, but he had to keep it because his father fixed it for him to keep. He got that before he had a wife. Now he has grandchildren. Another way is if the person says they want to keep the skull. Then they ask their parents (though it might not be their first). The parents were our bosses at that time. If they wanted us to keep the skull then we kept it (Bob Konana A2:67).

The young hunter might give the skull to another member of the family as a valued keepsake: Not all people keep the polar bear skulls, but the custom of our ancestors was that when a young boy or girl gets [their] first bear, they would give away the skull to their favourite uncle or relative or even godparents for keepsake and as a token of their appreciation for the support that they've given. I'm not really sure what all the reasoning behind it was, but that was one of their practices that we modern Inuit no longer do… We also give the skulls to the white people now … anyway, I do have one skull at home that I received from my nephew some years ago and now it's all dark in colour because I keep it in the house (Bob Konana Video Transcript).

The contemporary practice of keeping the skull of a polar bear in one’s home may be a remnant of the death taboo described above, involving the hanging of the skull and skin in the iglu. In any case, it reveals the continued esteem in which Inuit hold polar bears. An Inuit story also speaks of larger than normal polar bears called nanurluit (nanurluk, singular).

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

I have never really heard but I think that they are the ones that stay way out in the ocean. I think they mostly live in the ocean, in the water. I have heard legends that the nanurluit always have a hole in the ice because they live in the water. When this certain guy … found an iglu, he put water over the nanurluk’s iglu. This guy actually caught the nanurluk through its breathing hole. He probably speared it. I have kind of heard stories about it. It seems like it is a legend, and yet it is not quite a legend the way I heard it. I think that the guy poked the eye of the bear when it came up for air. It couldn’t see anymore and so he ended up killing it (David Aglukkaq A1:800).

An older, more extensive version of this story was told to Knud Rasmussen by Maniilaq in 1924. In this version it was not the nanurluk’s iglu that had water poured over it, but the man’s: There are giant bears so big that ordinary people cannot hunt them. But they in turn hunt people. They are fast runners in spite of their size, and therefore always attack at the run. Their jaws are so tremendous that they swallow people whole when they catch them, and such people die only when they are suffocated in a bear’s belly. As nanurluk had eaten many people, there was once a shaman, a big and bold man, who attacked it by leaping in through its mouth and diving down into its stomach. From there he cut it open and threw out all the people it had swallowed. That is how a shaman killed a giant bear and avenged those it had eaten. Once nanurluk was pursuing some people who succeeded in slipping into a mountain cave, where the entrance was so narrow that the bear could not get in after them. But it stabbed them with its whiskers and impaled them, hauled them out in that way and ate them until there were no more left. --------------------------------------------------Only very rarely can ordinary people kill nanurluit, which are looked upon as the game animals or Inugpahugjuk; but we do know of a case where, with cunning and artfulness, a man put an end to one of these great animals. There was once a man who one autumn, just when the sea had frozen over, caught sight of a giant bear lying right down on the bottom of the sea. He could see it through the sheet ice; it was easy to see for no snow had fallen yet. At the village they had nothing to eat and, as the bear seemed to be sleeping, the man determined to

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization try to catch it. He hurried home, shovelled loose snow over his hut and poured water over it. When it had stiffened in the cold he went near the place where the giant bear lay, approaching it so that he had the sun before him. Scarcely had the giant bear seen his shadow when it swam upwards in order to get onto the ice. It had a little breathing hole, but it was not so big that it could get up through it quickly. It used to remain long in the water and only now and then came up to the hole to breathe. But now it began to scrape at the ice in order to get through, sometimes using its teeth too; but when at length it pushed its head up, the man thrust his knife in its eye and cut its nose off. Then, when the bear had thus been blinded and could not smell either, because the blood flowed continuously out of its nose, the man fled towards his house and concealed himself there. He waited a long time, but as the bear did not appear, he went out to see what had become of it. He found it lying dead on the ice. It was so big that they afterwards lived on it and did not want for meat all that winter. Skilful shamans often employ giant bears as helping spirits (Rasmussen 1931:254/255).

Nanurluit have also been reported to have been caught by Inuit within recent memory. I think there used to be some bigger polar bears because I heard stories of this guy’s father catching what we call a nanurluk. They are bigger than normal polar bears (Bob Konana A1:208). I have never seen one but that is the term we use for bears that are bigger than the polar bears. I have heard of one guy named Huk&ak who caught a polar bear in the Gulf of Boothia. He shot the bear and it fell in the water. They hitched up their dogs and tried to pull it out but it was too heavy so he skinned it like that and just took half of the skin (George Kamookak A1:329).

The few remaining Elders who remember, at least partially, the traditional beliefs associated with polar bears and polar bear hunting, convey the seriousness and respect surrounding the animal. The intelligence of polar bears attained omniscience in the realm of human affairs, and great

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

care had to be taken not to offend the bears. This fact made the relationship between polar bears and Inuit unique relative to other game animals, and as Wenzel (1983:94) has observed, some vestiges of this relationship were still present for many Inuit in the late 1970s. Further observation on modern polar bear hunts would be needed to comment on the continuance of some of these beliefs. However as mentioned earlier, during the April field trip, Elder Bob Konana still referred to the belief that some individuals are more prone to be attacked by bears than others. The Cultural Significance of Polar Bear Hunting For the Inuit residents of Gjoa Haven, polar bear hunting has been a tradition since time immemorial. When compared to other animals hunted by Inuit, their relationship with polar bears is unique due to the esteemed position polar bears occupy in Inuit beliefs and their close affiliation with humans. The polar bear was once human: it resembles the human form when skinned; it hunts seals like humans, preparing the seal hole in the same fashion. Inuit legends depict polar bears removing their skins and living like humans; and it’s death requires the observance of an elaborate death taboo that include gifts of human implements. The polar bear was recognized to be a very powerful animal, both in its omniscience and influence over the fate of people, and in its physical presence as a dangerous predator. Such a powerful animal required the observance of elaborate tiriguhuktut [taboos], and the spiritual preparation and protection of youth, through piguhiqtuq [‘working on’] and the use of anguat [amulets]. The power of the polar bear was also present in its flesh, and sick people were not to eat the meat, as it would make them more ill. For these reasons, polar bear hunting and the meat and skins deriving from the hunt, have always been highly esteemed. While the more elaborate tiriguhuktut [taboos] associated with polar bears are no longer observed, the animal continues to be venerated by modern Inuit. To understand how it feels to be a successful polar bear hunter, one must first understand the importance of being a provider of meat in Inuit culture. In traditional Inuit culture, to be ajurngittuq [smart] is to be competent in the skills of survival. For a man, this is to be skilled enough at hunting to be able to provide meat for one’s family and for the entire camp.

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Figure 10: Illustration of a Nanurluk hunting below its breathing hole by Danny Aluk.

Even long ago [and even]… now people say to me that my dad was a great hunter. …there were hardly any camps .. or stores, but he would have meat all the time all winter. That is why people … say that my dad was a great hunter (Annie Arquviq A3:564).

The sharing traditions of ningiqtuq and niqaiturniq6 ensured that the meat from large game such as polar bear, bearded seal and ringed seal were distributed widely within a camp. Because of this, skilled hunters impacted greatly on the survival of the community and their competence brought with it an elevated social status. Being a skilled hunter and 6

Niqaiturniq is the traditional way that ringed seals were divided and distributed in precise shares. 83

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

provider continues to be a source of pride and status to a man in Inuit culture. To be a successful hunter of an esteemed animal such as polar bear is a great source of pride to the Inuit hunter. To provide such valued meat is a service greatly admired by the community. When asked why it was important to them that they hunt polar bears, hunters inevitably spoke about the maintenance of tradition and the importance of providing polar bear meat: Darren: Why is it important to you to go polar bear hunting? Jerry (in English): Thinking of our Elders [who] want meat. … When they know that you are going … they seem to … want to tell you .. ‘catch a polar bear,’ ‘I hope you catch a polar bear.’ They seem to not care who catches [it], as long as someone catches a polar bear. They know that they are going to get the meat. … they like … polar bear meat so much… (Jerry Arqviq A3:500-501). Darren: So why do you go … hunting? It seems like you do it a lot, so you like it for some reason. George (in English): …I was born … on the ocean and ever since I was a boy I have seen bears. I like eating [them] too, that is why I go polar bear hunting all the time. Or, if I can get polar bear meat from somebody, that is what I usually do (George Konana A3:190-191). (in English)…it is part of the tradition I guess…. for years now… (George Konana A3:241). Since the old days we wanted the bear and we still want it. Even now that it has a price […the skin], the meat is still good, that is why we still want it. We like the meat and the animal (Bob Konana A2:98).

To hunt polar bears and provide its meat is to be an Inummarik—a real Inuk. Wenzel (1983:93) has reported elsewhere that being considered a real Inuk is a primary motivation in polar bear hunting. Polar bear hunting and the consumption of polar bear meat are activities that are part of the core of Inuit identity for the people of Gjoa Haven. During the field trip portion of the study, the participants very closely observed a young adult male polar bear (nukaugaq). Afterward, the group had tea and were discussing the experience informally in Inuktitut. Elder Bob Konana and co-researcher Jerry Arqviq talked about

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how much they had wanted to shoot the bear and that it was very fat [and therefore good for food]. Elder George Kamookak responded with the phrase niqittiavak meaning ‘excellent meat’ (A2:193). Several days after the field trip, George Kamookak was formally interviewed as part of the documentary video footage and he referred back to the encounter with the bear: Yes, just last week we came across a bear… Having depended on it for survival, it was difficult not to kill [it] for food … We should be able to give our young people a chance to … hunt them, because the only way they will learn to hunt is by … practices such as traditional hunting …. they really enjoy going out on the land and learning survival skills as well as hunting skills (George Kamookak Video Transcript).

Elders feel it’s imperative to pass on the essential Inuit activities of hunting polar bears and eating polar bear meat to future generations. George Kamookak found it difficult to just watch a polar bear when, in his mind, the appropriate thing would have been to shoot it for food, and to teach the youth the skills of polar bear hunting. Due to the current regional moratorium, George was forbidden from killing the bear.7 If the moratorium continues, youth in the region may not have the chance to hunt polar bears for many years. When asked how he felt about that possibility, George Konana responded: (in English) Oh, I don’t feel good about that, but we will see what happens, I guess. …every year now for so many years [my sons] have been going down with me … and every year they [ask] me if we are going to hunt polar bears. And you know if I was to do it myself, I would … bring them down and shoot a bear, but right now it is not the right thing to do (George Konana A3:239).

For Bob Konana, keeping the polar bear hunting tradition alive is important. The traditions of eating the meat and using the skin also need to continue.

7 Polar bear management authorities in Canada set quotas on each specific management area. At the time of this study, a zero quota (or moratorium) prevented hunting of polar bears in the McClintock Channel Management Area.

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

We want to keep our traditions from long ago… not just for the meat, but also for the hide. We used to use the hide for sleds. We used to hunt [polar bears] with bow and arrow and snow knife.... If there are enough bears, we would like to keep catching bears (Bob Konana A2:96).

A continued moratorium would threaten the transmission and integrity of the polar bear hunting tradition. If the tags are not going to be given out for a long time, the younger guys are not going to be happy because they are not going to be able … [to] learn about bears (Bob Konana A2:204).

Not having the chance to become polar bear hunters will remove one activity by which a youth can become an Inummarik, or ‘real Inuk’. Safety in Polar Bear Country Anywhere in the study area, there is the possibility of a polar bear visiting a camp. However, there are regions in which it becomes more likely, such as from Hiuraarjuaq north, and north of Kinngaq [Matty Island]. Safety depends on being prepared. When camping, one can have a dog tied outside to provide a warning of the approach of a polar bear. Otherwise, one must organize one’s equipment for quick access in the event of a polar bear visit. From my experience, when a polar bear gets to your iglu [snow house] suddenly, without your knowing, don’t panic. Listen carefully for where it is, what it is getting. Try to remember where your rifle or pana [snow knife] is. If you have a dog, watch where the dog is. Sometimes the dog can be on the other side of the bear (Bob, Konana A2:142). If you were to camp out in the polar bear areas you have to remember where your equipment is. Your pana has to be in the iglu. A rifle should be outside very close to the door. Remember where your weapons are (Bob Konaaq A2:144).

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If a polar bear comes into camp and it is necessary to defend oneself or one’s property, then the obvious solution is to shoot it. However, if one does not have a rifle, then IQ dictates that a polar bear is most vulnerable in the facial area (Gideon Qitsualik A1:404). A person from Taloyoak told a story—a bear got to their iglu. He crushed their iglu from the outside. His two sons were sleeping …. The stove was still on. They survived with that lit stove. They kept putting fire towards [the bear’s] face (Bob Konana A2:144). Lunch at old ice, field trip 316 April 2002. Photo courtesy Darren Keith.

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

When traveling in polar bear country, one should not travel alone, and one should have a pana at all times even if they are just going for a short walk. … my father used to always tell me to go [polar bear hunting] with someone. Go with another snow machine or take somebody on your sled; but he never used to tell me why. And, he said, ‘have your pana with you or your gun with you at all times, even if you go for a short walk.’ That is what he used to always tell me. Or, watch the person you are going with at most times. He said ‘the bears are hard to see if you don’t keep your attention [on] what you are doing.’ … We need to be prepared for something, mostly when we are around the polar bear area. Even now when we are on the land, people see polar bear tracks in unusual places. Now, some of us are starting to notice that we need to be prepared at all times (Jerry Arqviq A3:447). When we were growing up, we were always told to carry a pana …always carry a weapon. These days, that is not taught to the younger people. I know what to do if I am attacked, it is just that no one has ever asked. I was told that if you are not going to carry a gun you must always carry a pana or a harpoon if you are walking anywhere, because that is when the polar bears would show up. …. If I was carrying anything in my hand I would use that to hit the polar bear in the face. …as a human if you were hit in the face you would try to turn away. If you [are] in an iglu and the polar bear goes in, if there is anything handy to you … cover the head and then … attack it with a knife or a pana (Gideon Qitsualik A1:404).

There are specific clues that a person can look for to know if a polar bear is aggressive and might attack. According to Bob Konana, bears that are very white are said to be dangerous, and a bear that walks with its head raised all the time is said to be mean (A1:70). George Kamookak explained that the way a bear holds its head while walking away is also an indicator. You know by the look of the bears, how they hold their head. The ones that are looking over their shoulder are shy. If they are looking under their shoulder, they are not so shy (George Kamookak A2:146).

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According to Bob Konana, hunters should also be very weary of a bear that slides and rolls while running away. This is called piqtailiraqtuq and they can reach a hunter quickly using this method. They are dangerous when they do that. It is called piqtailiraqtuq [when they slide with one arm back]. They are very dangerous when they do that because they are very fast. They keep their back legs straight. They slide until they stop (Bob Konana A2:222).

If a face-to-face encounter without a rifle is inevitable then one should know the style of the bear’s attack. Elder Gideon Qitsualik explained his first-hand knowledge of how to defend against a polar bear attack. I have witnessed people being attacked by polar bears. Even if there are dogs around, a polar bear [will] attack a human... If it is attacking, if the head is twisting, you go towards the jaw side because they will never attack that way. If you have a snow knife or a knife…move towards the jaw side. If you move towards the other side, he can still see you. If you move towards the jaw side, you can poke it in the neck area. ...when there were shamans, we were told not to talk about our skills when being attacked. I myself know that if I was attacked and if I was holding something I would just keep hitting it in the face... I … have been attacked a number of times, but I hit them in the face and they didn’t attack. I have never stabbed them with a pana but I have speared them with a harpoon. When you are used to handling a polar bear, it is almost like handling a dog that is mean. They are really protective of their face and their head. If you hit them a number of times they won’t want to get close. If you are using your bare hands, then there is no chance you will scare the polar bear, but if you have a bat or a piece of stick in your hand then you can hit him in the face to keep him from attacking (Gideon Qitsualik A1:404).

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

As Gideon explained above, if people successfully defend themselves, the polar bear will no longer want to approach and may retreat. According to Bob Konana, when a polar bear realizes that a person is going to defend himself, they will retreat by walking backward instead of running away. If a person is attacked by a bear and the person tries to defend himself and [the bears] realize this, they start walking backwards instead of running away (Bob Konana A2:156).

Young hunters can benefit from hearing oral traditions and personal experiences from Elders who were raised in polar bear country, some of whom had to defend themselves from polar bears.

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Identifying Polar Bears by Age and Sex Polar Bear Age and Sex Terminology In the Nattilingmiut dialect there are many precise terms for polar bears of both sexes at different stages of development. A pregnant female is called an arnaluk (arnaluit, plural) (Bob Konana A1:100). The arnaluit will usually go into the maternity den around November or December and give birth to the cubs. The newborn cubs in the den are called atciqtaqtaq (David Aglukkaq A1:755) or they may also be referred to as hagliaqtuq or ‘one that is nursing’ (Bob Konana A1:204). Then in April when they come out of the den they are atciqtaq. That is when the mother takes them out onto the ocean [and they don’t return to the den] (Bob Konana A1:204).

When the cub or atciqtaq is out of the den and with its mother it can also be referred to as a piaraq meaning a cub with its mother. She is then referred to as a piaralik (Bob Konana A1:206). Polar bears tend to have twin cubs, and when the two are one year old they are called advarutat (singular is advarutaq). When they are one year old we call them advarutat, and then after that the next group is nalitqaihiniq, when they are still smaller than their mother. That means when their teeth are even [across their jaw] (Bob Konana A1:205). When they are about a year old they are called advarutaq. Most times they have two cubs. When they are a little bit bigger, a little bit bigger than a husky, about the height of the mother’s belly. That is when we call them nalitqaihiniq (David Aglukkaq A1:755).

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

At approximately the height of the mother’s belly, a cub is called a nalitqaihiniq, and this term refers to the fact that their teeth are all even across their jaw, as the canines have not yet grown longer than the other teeth. When a cub has grown to the same size, or near the same size, as its mother, then it is called a namiaq, and a group consisting of twin cubs and their mother are called namiariit (Gideon Qitsualik A1:430; Jimmy Kikut A1:713). And when they are the same size as their mother they call them namiariit. Full grown and still with their mother (Bob Konaaq A1:204).

Table 3: Polar Bear Age and Sex Terminology (Nattilingmiut Dialect) Age Group Terminology

Description

atciqtaqtaq atciqtaq piaraq advarutaq nalitqaihiniq

A newborn cub. A cub. A cub that is with its mother. A cub of about 1 year old. When they are a little bit bigger than an advarutaq, a little bit bigger than a husky, about the height of the mother’s belly. When they are the same size as their mother or a little smaller A young male. A full grown male. An adult female without cubs. A pregnant adult female. A female with cubs. A family group of a female and two cubs of about her size.

namiaq nukaugaq anguruaq tattaq (pronounced tadzaq) arnaluit piaralik namiariit or pingahuqat

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As the young bears continue to grow and leave their mothers they are known by specific terms according to their sex. An adult male that is not yet full size is called a nukaugaq (David Aglukkaq A1:755; Paul Eleeheetook A1:566; Jimmy Kikut A1:713; Bob Konana A1:70). An adult female that does not have cubs is called a tattaq (Bob Konana A1:204; Jimmy Kikut A1:713). Finally, an anguruaq is a full-grown adult male (David Aglukkaq A1:755; Bob Konana A1:70). Identification and Tracking Male and female polar bears are distinguishable visually by size in the case of a full-grown male, or by the presence of cubs in the case of a female. However if the male is not full-grown (nukaugaq) and a female does not have cubs (tattaq) visual identification is difficult. Gideon Qitsualik, Bob Konana and Jackie Ameralik offered some ways of distinguishing males and females. You can tell if it is a female by the movement. They seem to move a lot quicker and the male ones seem to move a lot slower (Gideon Qitsualik A1:395).

Figure 9 Photo courtesy Darren Keith.

You can also tell whether they are male or female by their skins because the males have darker color, more yellowish than the females and the younger males. The older they are the more yellow their skin is (Bob Konana Video Transcript).

(in English) Well first of all the size of the shoulder. The females are usually slender and a little shorter at the shoulder than the males, regardless of the age of the male (Jackie Ameralik A1:457).

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Fortunately, the sex of a polar bear is readily distinguished by reading its tracks. As a rule, a female track is more round than a male’s. The track of a male is more elongated than that of a female (Bob Konana A1:67; Gideon Qitsualik A1:393). ..If you track a bear, you can tell whether it's a male or female by the size and dent of the imprint ... the female … has smaller feet and paws and are broader than the male's … and lighter in weight, while the male bear is much larger and weighs heavier than the females, their imprint tends to be deeper and wider. If the tracks are fresh … you can easily tell the difference (Bob Konana Video Transcript). I know when they are adults or young bears and I also know if they are male. The footprints are a lot longer and narrower than the females whose tracks are a lot rounder. That is all I know about the tracks, I don’t know every detail by the tracks, but it is easy for me to tell if it is an adult or a small bear. I noticed that the male tracks land more on the heels and the females do not land too much on the heels. That is all I know about tracks (David Aglukkaq A1:738).

Bob Konana explains how he can read polar bear tracks for the health of an animal. You can also tell if the bears are healthy or lean by the tracks. The heel will dig more into the snow if it is skinny. If it is fat you can’t see the heel bone... The neck seems longer and skinnier if it is lean. Also the fur doesn’t look right... when a polar bear is fat it moves like it doesn’t have a bone in its body. When they are skinny they look stiffer and have longer legs (Bob Konana A1:65-68).

Inuktitut (the Inuit language) has a wealth of specific terminology related to many aspects of the environment including animals. The specific age/sex terms presented above, and the way to distinguish between the sexes by tracks were all well known to senior Elders Bob Konana, George Kamookak and David Aglukkaq. However, the complete set of age/sex terms, and knowledge of tracking were not well known to younger hunters.

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Denning and Denning Habitat A polar bear den is called an apumiuvik, and a denning area, where more than one den is located is called an apuhiriaq (David Aglukkaq A1:794; Bob Konana A1:28). Polar bears are said to den sometime in December or possibly as early as November. In preparation for denning, polar bears will eat vegetation; evidence of vegetation is often a sign to hunters that there is a den in the vicinity. Where they are going to den there is always sign that they have been eating... ivviit [grasses]… I don’t know why, but I think that it may be to fill up their stomach before going into the den (Bob Konana A1:110). Louie: Have you ever heard of bears eating grasses before going into the den? George: Yes, there is always lots of signs of them eating—even sea weeds—before they go denning (George Kamookak A1:220-221).

All pregnant females den, but only some other bears will den. When there is enough snow they start denning… Towards December they always start denning. Especially the ones that are going to have cubs (David Aglukkaq A1: 774).

Any age group or sex may den, but they do not den every year. The denning bears without cubs leave their dens around the beginning of February (Bob Konana A1:77. Any age group or sex of polar bear may den... It seems like the full-grown males rarely den. The younger males and … females, and the females with cubs are the ones that frequently den. They usually start coming out of their dens about this time of the year [early February], as soon as the sun starts coming up a little (Bob Konana A1:104105).

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

Females with cubs are said to leave their dens in April, as cub tracks can be seen outside the dens by [then] when Inuit go out polar bear hunting (Bob Konana A1:79). …the ones with newborn cubs start coming out in April. Even when the mother is going out earlier, she goes back into the den. When the cubs are old enough to walk they usually go out onto the ocean (Bob Konana A1:106).

As the winter progresses, the snow becomes deeper over the dens. The bears claw away at the ceilings of their dens, making them thinner, and creating higher floors (Bob Konana, A1:88). This qadvaqtituq ‘they are going higher;’ also occurs during the brighter stages of the moon. When the days are getting longer, some of the bears … start taking the snow off the top of the den to make the .. roof thinner. Even the ones with cubs … start digging … that is when we call them qadvaqtituq ‘they are going higher’ … they are getting ready to go out (David Aglukkaq A1:742). Bob: …they move either up or sideways. They don’t stay in one spot for a long time. Some of them take longer to move from their area. Some move faster than others. They try to keep their den roofs as thin as possible as the snow accumulates. Darren: Why is that, for air? Bob: It could be for air, or also because they try to keep their dens as clear as possible from pee and shit (Bob Konana A2:151-153). Especially at this time … [early April]… when the den is thinnest. As more daylight comes they get thinner and thinner. In the cold of the winter they are dangerous, but not as dangerous as right now (Bob Konana A2:158). They used to tell us not to polar bear hunt right after the moon or just when the moon is up [when it is bright]. The reason … is [that] the polar bears go higher in their dens. Right after the moon, we know that the polar bear has gone higher … and the top would be really thin. That is why we shouldn’t den hunt then (Annie Arquviq A3:548).

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During winters when the weather is fair and there is not much snow accumulation, the bears will not have a chance to move their dens in this way, and the inside of the dens will have ice formed on them, due to staying in one place for too long (Bob Konana A2:29). Denning Habitat and Core Denning Areas As polar bears are looking to establish dens in November or December, they favour locations where the conditions allow for an early season snow accumulation. Bob Konana was asked what conditions bears look for in a denning site: It is usually where there is an early snow build-up. It is usually the south side of a hill or a little cliff. That is where they are mostly… not just the places that I have shown you, but it could be anywhere where there is enough snow. It is not only the hills where they den all the time, they also den where there is a snow build-up on the banks of creeks … on the sea-ice where there are icebergs or pressure ridges with snow build-up I have heard stories of people seeing them denning on the south side of icebergs. It is not common that you see them denning on the ocean, they are usually on the land (Bob Konana A1:108).

Polar bears looking to establish a den must find a snow drift of sufficient depth. The only time they can make a den is when they can find enough snow. They look for this (Bob Konana A1:76).

Certain locations in the study area have been recognized as places where hunters have been able to find polar bears in their dens consistently from year to year. These areas have been referred to as ‘core’ denning areas by biologist Anne Gunn (Gunn et al. 1991). IQ related to the locations of core denning areas has been known for generations. The knowledge was derived from the practice of den hunting—apumiujuksiuqtut—which has been practiced since the 1960s. It follows that Elders who grew up during the time when apumiujuksiuqtut was still practiced are the best sources for the locations of core denning areas. Table 4 details the core denning

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locations in the study area, and the information sources that identified them. Figures 12, 13 and 14 map the core denning locations. Changes in Core Denning Areas As polar bear hunting no longer involves locating bears in their dens, polar bear hunters do not search the core denning areas. Therefore, the current use by polar bears of all the core denning areas identified in Table 4 cannot be confirmed. When asked if he had seen any dens north of King William Island, polar bear guide Jackie Ameralik explained: (in English) No I don’t really look for dens when I am guiding. I am not really a polar bear hunter. …I just look for footprints and the size of them. Around the area in King William Island I have not seen dens or looked for dens. But I have heard where the dens usually are (Jackie Ameralik A1:467).

Elder Bob Konana remembered that when his parents hunted polar bears they would consistently find bears in areas they understood to be traditional or core denning areas. Later on, when he himself started hunting polar bears by dog team around 1961, Bob found it more difficult to find polar bears denning. Just before he began hunting, in 1968, new regulations banned the hunting of bears in dens. Snowmobiles came into use around the same period— between the end of the 60s and the early 70s. Bob has noticed a further reduction of polar bear dens since the time of dog team use. When I was a child and while I was growing up my parents would go hunting and they knew the exact places where dens would be... When I became an adult they had new rules for hunting... It was already hard to find dens when I started hunting by dog team... (Bob Konana A1:81-83) There [are fewer] now than when there were dog teams (Bob Konana A1:87).

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Figure 12: Core denning sites (West portion). Shaded areas are core denning areas.

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(in English) I don’t think so. Years ago, when you were just travelling down there you could sometimes see them. There are a few around now, but not as [many] as there used to be, I guess (George Konana A3:83).

Bob Konana and his son George independently communicated their general observations that they are seeing fewer dens than in the past. The April 2002 field trip covered a small area, and several areas considered active core denning areas were visited. There were two confirmed dens found at one site. In general, the snow accumulations in the areas visited was judged to be low, and specifically too low to allow denning (see below). Before the field trip Bob Konana was asked whether the snow conditions have changed at traditional denning sites since he could remember, he replied: I noticed a difference. These days we don’t get much snow for a long time. In the past we always used to get snow earlier, and now we don’t get much … for a long time... It takes longer now for the ocean to freeze and the snow seems to come later than it used to a long time ago (Bob Konana A1:113).

GNWT biologist Anne Gunn also documented low snow accumulations, in the form of snowdrifts, during an April 6, 1984 visit to Admirality Island, a denning location known and used historically by Cambridge Bay hunters. Gunn reported that ‘the observers travelled on the west side of Admirality Island and found no dens. The absence of dens may reflect the shallowness of snowdrifts early in winter’ (Gunn et al. 1991:6). Low snow accumulations were later emphasized as the reason for the scarcity of dens on eastern Victoria Island and northern King William Island during denning surveys in the years 1984-1986.

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Table 4: Core Denning Locations in the Study Area

Denning Location

Comments

Sources

North end of King William Island from Peel Inlet around to Collinson Inlet

Denning locations tend to be in higher areas and along creek banks. Visited once by the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) denning survey April 3-11, 1985.

Nilalik (hill)

This is a hill located on the north end of King William Island.

Iviangirnaq (2 hills)

‘They used to den in the Iviangirnaq area. I heard stories that they used to den there and then someone built an inuksuk (stone cairn) there and they didn’t come anymore’ (Bob Konana A1:190). Part of Tennent Islands identified which are suspected as a whole to be denning areas by the Nunavut Atlas (Riewe 1992). Visited April 8, 2002 and found no dens, only one location where a bear had tested the snow for denning. Part of Tennent Islands.

Bob Konana A1:4 George Kamookak (heard) A1:219 Jackie Ameralik (heard) A1:469 Mathew Tiriganiaq A1:590 George Konana A3:79 Jimmy Kikut (heard) A1:667 Paul Eleeheetook A1:543 Gunn et al. 1991 Riewe 1992 Brice-Bennett 1976:77 Bob Konana A1:9 George Kamookak A1:219 George Konana A3:79 Gideon Qitsualik (heard) A1:373 Bob Konana, Appendix 1:1

Uplutuuq (island)

Kingiktuarjuk (island)

‘I have seen dens at Kingiktuarjuk island. Usually dens in that island there. I used to see dens but after the bears have gone’ (Paul Eleeheetook A1: 551).

Haglaarjuk/Sophia Island Qikiqtarjuaq/Matty Island

‘I have seen one in the den at that island Kingiktuarjuk’ (Mathew Tiriganiaq A1:589). Part of Tennent Islands Part of Tennent Islands

Ujarahugjulik (island) Clarence Islands Small island east of Ujarahugjulik ~lat. 69° 57’ ~long. 97° 08’ Napaqtilik

Two recently vacated dens were found here on April 12, 2002. A small island with a navigation beacon north of Hiuraarjuaq.

Bob Konana, Appendix 1:1 Riewe 1992

Bob Konana A1:5 Paul Eleeheetook A1:551 Mathew Tiriganiaq A1:589

Bob Konana A1:5 David Aglukkaq A1:749 Jerry Arqviq A3:299 Bob Konana A1:5 Jerry Arquviq (heard from mother Annie) A2:343 David Aqiukkaq A1:781 Jackie Ameralik (heard) A1:469 Bob Konana A1:5 George Konana A3:43 Bob Konana A1:190

‘The same thing happened [as at Iviangirnaq] over on the small island north of Hiuraarjuaq [Napaqtilik]. Someone put up a marker there and they didn’t den there anymore’ (Bob Konana A1:190). Hiuraarjuaq (island)

One of the Royal Geographical Society Islands. David Aglukkaq specifically identified the south shore as an apuhiriaq (A1:747). Jimmy Kikut also identified the same apuhiriaq as a place that used to have lots of dens before they started hunting with rifles (1:679). ‘Iknow that there are denning places on the island Hiuraarjuaq. I even caught bears there. I even heard way before my time that it was a place that they used to den. And the people that used to live at Ugjulik used to go down into the Hiuraarjuaq area to hunt polar bears in the den’ (George Kamoookak A1:218).

David Aglukkaq A1:735, 747 George Kamookak A1:218 Mary Kamookak A1:274 Jimmy Kikut A1:679 Mathew Tiriganiaq A1 589 George Konana A3:63 Peter Apiana A3:800

Riewe 1992

Brice-Bennett 1976:77 Farquharson 1976:44

‘...I have seen a den down in those islands there— Hiuraarjuaq’ (Mathew Tiriganiaq A1:589). ‘And this area here too there used to be a lot of dens here too in the time before we started hunting with rifles [south side of Hiuraarjuaq]’ (Jimmy Kikut A1:679). Nugluktarvik (island)

One of the Royal Geographical Society Islands

Putulik/Hat Island

‘I remember that we used to seal around there and hunt polar bear at the same time. I have heard that someone caught a polar bear in the den before, at Hat Island’ (Jimmy Kikut A1: 677).

Umingmalik (island)/Gateshead Island

Visited by GNWT Surveys in April 1977, April 1982 and March/April 1986.

West Coast of Boothia Hattiumaniq/Qadgiujaq Kinngailaq/ Prince of Wales Island Qikiqtarjuaq/Jenny Lind Island Avvaq/Taylor Island Qikiqtagafaaluk/Admirality Island

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Peter Apiana A3: 800 Brice-Bennett 1976:77 Mathew Tiriganiaq George Kamookak A2:15 Peter Apiana A3:716 Susie Apiana A3:763 Jimmy Kikut A1:677 Brice-Bennett 1976:78 Farquharson 1976:44 Spencer and Schweinsburg 1979 Williams and Jingfors 1983 Gunn et al. 1991 Annie Arquvik A3:538 Jerry Arqviq, A2:312 and A3:406 Bob Konana A2:52 Annie Arquvik A2:538 Jerry Arquvik A2:299 Farquharson 1976:44 Farquharson 1976:44 Farquharson 1976:44

Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut

Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

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Figure 13: Core denning sites (East portion). Shaded areas are core denning areas

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

Figure 14: Core denning sites (North portion). Shaded areas are core denning areas)

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Our results emphasize the importance of fall snow conditions in determining whether or not the bears den in a core denning area. For the previous three years (1984-86), the denning surveys on the islands off eastern Victoria Island and northern King William Island have found evidence of fall icing and shallow snow affecting the denning. It is not known where the bears den when conditions are unsuitable in those core areas (Gunn et al. 1991:21).

Several informants reported observing low snow accumulations and a change in snow quality in recent years (see below). Bob Konona, field trip 3-16 April, 2002. Photo courtesy Darren Keith.

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Polar Bear Feeding and Feeding Habitat Seals and Seal Habitat The main prey species for polar bears are ringed seals and bearded seals. Bears are found in higher concentrations in areas that provide access to seal breathing holes. Seal breathing holes are found in locations where there are thin areas of new ice that have formed after a crack has opened or a pressure ridge has formed. The interaction of moving ice with icebergs, landforms and underwater topography such as reefs create cracks and pressure ridges. For this reason, the ice tends to be rough or broken and piled up in the vicinity of land, and where ice contacts shallow water, and grounded multi-year ice. …. way out in the ocean I have never seen cracks or pressure ridges, only near the land. It seems like along the shores is where there are more cracks and pressure ridges—that is, where there are more seals—and that is where the bears are. Although there are seals out in the middle, there are [fewer] than near the shore (Bob Konana A1:156).

This dynamic environment creates new habitat in which seals can maintain breathing holes, and the new ice formed in cracks and pressure ridges gives the bears easier access to the holes. The smooth conditions of the open ocean obscures seal holes under the season’s accumulated snow. [There] is usually rough ice around the land and the islands; …in the middle of Larsen Sound it is very smooth. The bears tend to be around the rough ice and are rarely in the middle [In] the areas around the shore where the ice piles up there are a lot of seals. In the middle the ice is smooth ... around the shore and …. the islands there are more seals than out in the middle of the ocean. There are seals out there, but [fewer]. It is probably because it is way out in the ocean (Bob Konana A1:9).

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

I have seen a few seal kills in the centre [of Larsen Sound] but I always see less than along the shore (Bob Konana A1:15). They seem to hunt seal more where there are cracks that have frozen over, [where there is not] all the snow build-up of other holes. They seem to hunt there because it is easier … to catch seals where there is less snow (Bob Konana A1:166). There used to be a lot of tracks where [the ice] would … open and close .. [where] there was young ice inside…. when the ice opens and then freezes (George Kamookak A1:264).

There are five species of seals found in the waters of the study area (see Table 5). The most abundant and important prey species for polar bears are the ringed seal (nattiq) and the bearded seal (ugjuk). The less common species are the harp seal (qairulik), harbour seal (qahigiaq) and the hooded seal (nattivak). Populations of all the species of seals are said to be healthy. There has also been no change in the proportion of locally rarer species like harp, harbour and hooded seals relative to ringed and bearded seals (Bob Konana A2:11). Figure 15 shows the concentrations of bearded seals in the study area. Ringed seals are found throughout the study area; they are concentrated closer to shore, where areas of rough ice develop (Bob Konana A1:9,12,156). Bearded seals are concentrated in specific areas. Moving north of Gjoa Haven, bearded seals are not common, until the area north of Kinngaq and Qikiqtarjuaq (George Konana A3:113115). When asked about bearded seal populations, Bob Konana said the main concentrations are from the Tennant Islands (Qikiqtarjuaq, Uplutuuq, Kingiqtuarjuk and Haglaarjuk), north along the Boothia Peninsula, around Nuvuk (Cape Felix) including Ujarahugjulik, along the west coast and Victoria Strait connecting Ugjulik, and also in the vicinity of Umingmalik (Bob Konana A2:75). The Ugjulik region is also known for the number of bearded seals found there; its’ name literally means, ‘it has bearded seals.’ George Kamookak had also heard that the Umingmalik area had a high concentration of bearded seals (A2:16).

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Figure 15: Bearded seal concentrations (shaded areas represent core bearded seal concentrations).

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

Table 5: Seal Terminology (Nattilingmiut Dialect) nattiit (Ringed Seals) (Phoca hispida) nattiituq iplaulik nattialik nattiarniq qavahimaittuq qavaataaqtuq aktuaktaq tiigaq malatuuq

A full grown female without pups. A pregnant female. A female with pups. A female whose pups did not survive. A newborn pup with white hair. A pup after it has shed its white hair. An adult seal of either sex. Old stinky male. An unhealthy ringed seal with a hump on its chest. Their bodies and even their breathing holes smell bad.

ugjuit (Bearded Seals) (Erignathus barbatus) naijuittuq iplaulik tirgluk ugjuaq aliqsaq iritraaniq inirniungittuq qaggiq qairulik (Harp Seal) (Phoca groenlandica)

qahigiaq (Harbour Seal) (Phoca vitulina) nattivak (Hooded Seal) (Cystophora cristata)

Adult female. Pregnant female. Newborn pup. A pup in its first summer. Yearling. After the first shed (about 2 years old). Young adult. Adult male. Rarely seen on the west side of the Boothia Peninsula. There are more in the Thom Bay area. Bigger than a ringed seal and more active. The color of their hair is different. They don’t stay up above the water as long as a ringed seal. They have a way of breaking the water to breathe that is like a whale (Bob Konana A2:13). Definition confirmed in Schneider (1985:278) and in Owingayak (1986:103). Not often seen. They are bigger than ringed seals. Definition confirmed in Owingayak (1986:103). Definition confirmed in Schneider (1985:198).

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Bearded seal. Photo courtesy CCI archives.

How Polar Bears Hunt Polar bears hunt seals by waiting at the breathing hole (aglu) in much the same fashion as Inuit. Bob Konana describes two methods that polar bears are known to use when waiting at the seal hole during the season when the holes are covered by snow: There are two methods that the polar bears use to hunt seal. The seals are always under the snow when they come out of the hole … they sit in there. The bears know when the seal is in there … they crush the snow down on the den and grab the seal. The other method is that they remove

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just enough snow to keep the hole covered, then when the seal comes up to the hole they ..bite the seal. ...I have seen where the polar bear has fixed the seal hole like [this]. …when the polar bear crushes down on the snow [it is called] ingmuriruq (‘crushing or breaking through’); …waiting at the seal hole for the seal to come up is nikpaktuq [when they do this they clear off the snow down to the hole or aglu] (Bob Konana A1:161). I have seen a polar bear [prepare] the seal hole. [He] cleared all the snow …around it, and made it really thin right to the ice cone over the hole. It was really thin, so that he could easily grab the seal when it came up. It was really nice. Most times they don’t bother working on the … hole. They know how hard the snow is and they crush down when the seal pulls out into its lair. If there [is] a seal in its pull-out lair, they also know this from a distance, and they sneak up to it and as soon as they are close enough they take a couple of big hops and crush down on the lair. That is how they catch the seal… (Bob Konana A2:218). I have never seen a polar bear sneaking up to a seal but I have seen one waiting at [a] hole and going around to … other holes. I have seen a bear hunting seal at the breathing hole. Seal holes are usually covered with a thin layer of ice and then …. snow. That snow was dug down to the hole and then covered with soft snow [by the polar bear]. There were four of us that saw the polar bear waiting at the seal hole (Mathew Tiriganiaq A1:642).

Gideon Qitsualik was also aware of these two different methods used by bears at the seal hole, and that sometimes they result in the bear getting stuck and dying. Others have also witnessed this phenomenon. There seem to be different methods. Some bears seem to only try to catch the seals … by crushing the … den (at the breathing hole). But there are other[s] … that seem to be very skilful … they make the ice very thin [over the hole] and … attack and bite the seal as it comes up through the breathing hole. Polar bears seem to have a lot of accidents too …[one] died because it couldn’t get out of [the hole] after trying to attack a seal (Gideon Qitsualik A1:398).

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization …before there [were] so many snow machines, someone with a dogteam discovered a polar bear stuck in a seal hole. It drowned …[it] was bloated with the gases of decay. It was stinky and … so full of gas the water was way down the … hole [from the pressure]. The bear attacked the seal and got stuck in the … hole (Bob Konana A2:219). We used to hunt seals. And in the spring time when we were going towards the land to go fishing, we would see bears, and some of them are caught or stuck in the seal hole. Because they were seal hunting and the heads got stuck in the seal hole. I have seen bears like that (Annie Arquviq A3:538).

Figure 16: Polar bear waiting at the seal breathing hole. Illustrated by Danny Aluk.

Polar bears will sometimes cooperate when they are hunting at the seal hole. This is referred to as mauqhumajuq or mauqhuktuq, the same term that is used for Inuit seal hunting at the seal breathing holes. It is often namiariit (a female with grown cubs) that cooperate in this way, but unrelated bears are also known to do this.

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

When there is a female with grown cubs, they seal hunt in groups. That is what we call mauqhumajuq. (Bob Konana A1:165). Most times they wait for the seal alone, but they also do it in a family group. But if there is a polar bear [unrelated] group, they will also do it in a group (Bob Konana A2:217). Over in Tikiraarjuaq when we were trapping, one of the guys wanted to go seal hunting on the north side … so we went down there after we checked our traps. We went to that point and … he was looking for something with his binoculars on top of the piqalujaq (iceberg). He was looking down towards Ujarahugjulik and he said, ‘someone is already seal hunting ahead of us.’ … I thought there [were] people around that area. He said ‘there are three polar bears down there seal hunting.’ I expected people because he told me there was somebody already. So he told me to … [look] through the binoculars, and [I saw] two big bears and one [other] small bear. One was already in the seal hole, he seemed to be sitting or kind of low. And there was another one not too far from him, it was like he was getting something ready. And I told Alokee that the other one is digging. And he told me he was not digging but that he was making aglu. At that time I was wondering, ‘how could they make agl,u they are animals’. And we watched them for a while. And the smallest one was walking further down. Following the aijuraq or the quglungniq, and the other two were waiting (Jerry Arqviq A3:386).

Jerry Arqviq mentioned the different sea ice features at which the polar bears were hunting, such as aijuraq and quglungniq. Inuit recognize several different sea-ice features that are important as polar bear habitat. Where Polar Bears Feed Nangianarniit are areas that are dangerous on the ocean in the winter, as they are open late in the fall, and early in the spring, due to currents. Aukarniit are a kind of nangianarniq that are dangerously thin or completely open throughout the winter. Open leads in the ice are called ainiit. 114

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Aukarniit seem to hold some attraction for polar bears, but ainiit are not good polar bear habitat; bears prefer cracks that have frozen over for seal hunting. I used to catch polar bears by the aukarniit by [Qikiqtarjuaq]. They seem to attract polar bears (Bob Konana A1:146). The only thing I noticed was around Hangmaki there was a large open crack [ainiq] over 10 feet wide... (Bob Konana A1:52 The one I saw didn’t have any cracks …I didn’t … see a seal though; it was wide open. The cracks don’t attract bears when they are open, only when they are open [and freeze over again] and the seals have breathing holes in them (Bob Konana A1:154).

Old or multi-year ice is referred to as hikutuqait, and a very large piece of old ice—an iceberg—is called a piqalujaq8. At the end of the dogteam era in the 1960s, large icebergs and old ice were common in the Larsen Sound and Victoria Strait areas. After this time they were smaller and fewer until they were no longer seen. This environmental change will be discussed in detail below. Icebergs are understood to be closely associated with polar bears. Due to the areas of thin ice and the cracks that develop around them, they provide good seal habitat that is accessible to bears. (in English)… when we used to go down around the old icebergs, that is when we used to find … polar bear tracks (George Konana A3:5). There used to be a lot of polar bears around the icebergs...There … used to be more seals around the icebergs when they are near the shore. They seem to cause the development of more cracks (Bob Konana A1:38).

These large pieces of multi-year ice are referred to as icebergs in English by people in Gjoa Haven. They are not pieces of ice derived from calving glaciers, but large pieces of multi-year sea ice.

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

When I first came around here there used to be a lot of icebergs, but now the ice conditions are smooth [new ice]. When I first started going down north of King William Island there used to be icebergs, and there used to be a lot of polar bears around them, but now you hardly see any icebergs around anymore, …it is like there [are] hardly any more polar bears. When there [were] icebergs, you would see tracks going up the icebergs ... (Paul Eleeheetook A1:559). I think that there is a connection between the bears and icebergs. Around icebergs it is a lot easier to break ice than elsewhere. The water is usually running around an iceberg, and it keeps the ice thinner ... [good for seals] … and after they [went], the polar bears moved somewhere … where there [are] icebergs. When it freezes all together, the ice… gets a lot harder …when there is no wind blowing or anything to break up the ice when it is freezing up. When it is calm when it is freezing up, it gets harder much faster. That is one of my theories for why the bears are gone (Paul Eleeheetook A1:563).

As Paul Eleeheetook states above, in the absence of icebergs there are fewer cracks that are good for seals and therefore good polar bear feeding habitat. It seems … when there are no more icebergs, there are [fewer] open cracks because those used to attract a lot of polar bears (Bob Konana A1:44).

Polar bears also seem to be associated with icebergs and old ice during the open water season. The icebergs help a lot in bringing in the polar bears. Sometimes the polar bears stay on the icebergs even in the summer time. That is one way to catch a polar bear on the icebergs. Right now there are no icebergs and that is probably one reason for the decrease in the polar bear population. It is not right for me that there are hardly any polar bears around (Mathew Tiriganiaq A1:611).

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A project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization If the ice is completely gone the polar bear goes with the old ice. Myself I don’t have any concern about global warming, but I know that if the old ice goes the polar bear goes (Gideon Qitsualik A1:370).

IQ emphasizes an association between polar bears and multi-year ice, and there has been a connection suggested between the absence of icebergs and the low numbers of polar bears in the study area. Habitat for seal breathing holes is created when the sea-ice splits apart and the crack freezes over. There are two types of cracks created in this manner—the aijuraq (plural aijurat) and the qaq&uliq (plural qaq&uliit). The aijuraq is a frozen over crack in the ice that has edges that are just a little higher than the newly formed ice in the crack. The edges of the qaq&uliq are significantly higher than the newly formed ice in the crack. ...there are different types of cracks. One is a frozen-over crack whose sides are about even with the frozen-over crack—that is called aijuraq. There is another type of crack we call qaq&uliq, it is kind of built up on the sides—it is higher on each (Bob Konana A1:135). If the ice conditions are not too rough, you can always notice [aijurat]. It is usually on the north side of any pressure ridge or island that you find the cracks [aijurat]. You usually see the aijurat around the island (Bob Konana A1:137).

Habitat for seal breathing holes is also created when the sea-ice breaks under the pressure of being pushed in two opposing directions. This can happen in a very localized area in the form of a kind of push-up or qugluaniq, or it can happen over a large area, as in the case of a pressure ridge or quglungniq. …another … type of crack [is] called qugluaniq … these are usually almost like little pressure ridges … a triangular-shaped push-up. And then there [are] quglungniq— these are big pressure ridges that go quite high. Some—where there is a big ocean— can go over 8 feet [2.5 m] high. Before the snow is built up around them, they are

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

usually very high. Some years [are] different, sometimes they will be very high [and sometimes not] (Bob Konana A1:36).

Polar bear habitat such as aijurat and qaq&uliit, qugluaniit and quglungniit, are most common around areas where the ice contacts immovable objects. This can be in the form of land, icebergs, or reefs or ikatlruit (Bob Konana A1:49). Around the shores of islands or the mainland, cracks called atuarut are also formed by the pressure of ice against the shore. Polar Bear Habitat Preferences In general, polar bears tend to concentrate close to shore, where interactions of ice and land or reefs cause all of the habitat types discussed above to form. Polar bears may be found feeding around any of these different ice features. When the interviewees were asked if there was one sea-ice feature or habitat type that was more favoured by polar bears, respondants answered that any of these features could provide good habitat. Figure 17 shows the locations of Ikadlruit (reefs) and the locations of yearly recurring ice formations such as nangianarniit (an area of seasonally open or dangerous ice conditions), aukarniit (an area of open or dangerous ice conditions throughout the winter), quglungniit (pressure ridges) and aijurat (frozen-over cracks). The sea-ice feature that is held up as the one that would most consistently show signs of polar bear activity is the quglungniq (pressure ridges) (Jackie Ameralik A1:497; Jimmy Kikut A1:721; George Konana A3:142). For this reason, the strategy of many hunters is to follow quglungniit until a fresh track is found and pursued. If you are following a pressure ridge and you see only old tracks, keep following it, because newer tracks will always cross it at some point (Bob Konana A2:194).

George Konana felt that in the months before April, one could most likely find polar bears and their tracks in the vicinity of pressure ridges, but at the start of April and throughout the spring the bears leave the pressure ridges in search of seal pups (A3:128).

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Figure 17: Locations of Ikadlruit (reefs) and the locations of yearly recurring ice formations such as nangianarniit (an area of seasonally open or dangerous ice conditions), aukarniit (an area of open or dangerous ice conditions throughout the winter), quglungniit (pressure ridges) and aijurat (frozen-over crack)

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Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Polar Bears

(in English) When I go out around the end of May, I usually go … down here, just to find a track. I don’t just go to the pressure ridges, I go anywhere down there. Because in the wintertime … [bears] mostly hang out in the pressure ridges. Around May they … walk around anywhere… (George Konana A3:145).

Figure 18 shows the areas that informants reported being more frequented by polar bears. Bears are thought to be concentrated closer to the land around Larsen Sound down into Victoria Strait. The central part of Larsen Sound is considered poor polar bear habitat. I have seen a few seal kills in the centre [of Larsen Sound] but I always see [fewer there] than along the shore (Bob Konana A1:15).

Bears are found in the centre of Larsen Sound when the area to the northeast of King William Island has been disturbed. This latter island is the area that has been consistently visited by hunters from Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak over the years, and this hunting pressure and the attendant snowmobile sounds are blamed for displacing the bears. There [are] usually [fewer] tracks here [in the middle of Larsen Sound] early—before people go down. … there [are] more polar bears [along the shores] when there is no disturbance … when the people from Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak start hunting there seem to be more bears in the middle (Bob Konana A1:13). (in English) It depends if there is anyone around, because …. when there is someone around here [northeast of Cape Felix], then they start moving down this way [into Larsen Sound] (George Konana A3:149). (in English)…sometimes when there are people travelling around, they get bears there [northeast of Cape Felix], but most of the time they move away from the sound, I guess (George Konana A3:153).

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Elder Bob Konana has observed that polar bears seem to travel in a consistent direction each year. The route follows the edge of Larsen Sound, close to the shores of Boothia Peninsula, Prince of Wales Island, Gateshead Island, Collinson Peninsula, Admirality Island, and around the north end of King William Island. The movement is in a counterclockwise direction (Bob Konaaq A1:8). Elder Paul Eleeheetook noticed that bears usually travel to the north or northeast in the early spring. Bears on the northeast side of King William Island move up the coast of the Boothia Peninsula, and bears around Umingmalik (Gateshead Island) move towards Kinngailaq (Prince of Wales Island) (Paul Eleeheetook A1:557). Most of the tracks I have seen are going … northeast. This is what I have seen in the past. I don’t really see polar bear trails going … southward; instead I see them going northeast. I think they usually hang around, but in the early spring they tend to move northward. It is hard to find a polar bear around this area. That is the way I think about it (Paul Eleeheetook A1:557).

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Mathew Tiriganiaq (A1:628) and Jimmy Kikut (A1:686) agreed that bears to the northeast of King William Island tend to move northward, but Jimmy added that the bears around Hiuraarjuaq move to the west. This is consistent with the observations of David Aglukkaq, who found that bears in the Hiuraarjuaq area seem to move back and forth across Victoria Strait:. When I used to hunt in Hiuraarjuaq, they seemed to go southwest. There are polar bears that seem to go back and forth (David Aglukkaq A1:783).

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Environmental Changes Interviewees had several observations about environmental changes in the study area. Many of the changes could be indicators of climate change, and may already be affecting polar bear denning and feeding habitat in the region. Sea–Ice There is a consensus among interviewees that when compared to the era of the dog team (before the 1970s), the sea-ice is freezing later and breaking up sooner. In 1924, when Knud Rasmussen was at Malirrualik on the north side of Simpson Strait, he noticed ice starting to form on the Strait in mid-October (Rasmussen 1931:81). George Kamookak remembered the sea-ice freezing earlier and more rapidly in the past than it does today. It was safe to travel on the seaice by November 1. When we used to use dog teams there were even times when the sea-ice froze overnight and the next day we [would] be traveling on the ice. … we used to have more clear days, no clouds … and it …seem[ed] …. safer to travel earlier, as soon as it freezes; now you have to wait so many days. But maybe it is because you have to travel by snow machine, … I know that it is safer to travel by dog team on young ice. I remember they used to tell us that the trapping season started on November 1, and we used to go out and start putting out our traps and there [were] no dangerous spots on the ocean; everything would be frozen over. Now …the first of November there are a lot of open spots in the ocean [nilajuq—when it is frozen and there open spots in the young ice [it is] called nilajuq] (George Kamookak A1:250).

Mary Kamookak remembered the sea freezing over in October. It used to be … some time in October because by November 1, when trapping started, the sea-ice was safe. All the places with currents were open but most parts were frozen (Mary Kamookak A1:310).

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As an example of how rapidly the sea-ice used to become safe in the past, George Kamookak told a story from his youth. One time we went from Quuqa to Todd Island and we were hunting seal. And then we decided that we were going to go to Richardson Point and it was open water [in the middle of the strait] and so we paddled. The water started freezing and we couldn’t paddle anymore … so we spent the night in the boat. … we had one little caribou skin and I used it for a blanket and my father-in-law had nothing. The next day, early in the morning, I [was] getting up when I could hear the new ice moving. It was starting to get daylight and my father-in-law got out of the boat and the ice was strong enough to hold him already (George Kamookak A1:255).

After 1980, when Jerry Arqviq moved to Gjoa Haven from Taloyoak, safe ice for travelling was expected by the Remembrance Day long weekend (early November). Today, safe ice conditions are not seen until after this time. ...we used to always go across [Simpson Strait] on the long weekend in November. And now we go later than the long weekend (Jerry Arqviq A3:438).

In addition to forming later, the sea-ice is also not reaching the thickness that it once did. This is making travel more dangerous than in the past. …when I go out hunting to the flow edge, I notice the difference between now and then, when it comes to the ice and snow conditions. In the old days, there used to be a lot of snow and lots of thick ice around the edge, but these days there is a lot less snow and the ice is not as thick…. We have to be able to interpret the ice conditions in order to make it out there, but it's becoming more difficult to do so as the climate changes (Bob Konana Video Transcript).

The timing of the melting and break-up of the sea-ice has also changed over the years. Mathew Tiriganiaq, born in 1947, said that when he was young, the sea-ice used to go out in August. 124

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In the springtime the ice goes away a lot faster now, and it takes a lot longer to freeze up … in the fall. When I was young the ice used to go away in August. Today the ice goes away in mid-July and even in the first week of July (Mathew Tiriganiaq A1:614).

Mary Kamookak also remembered a late break-up when she was young. …we used to live on the mainland when I was younger; then [when] we spent the summer around here (Gjoa Haven) it was like the ice was just starting to go (melt and disappear) and the fall was already [here]. It was like there was no summer. It seem[ed] like longer summers when we were on the mainland. …now on King William Island it is a lot different; it is a lot hotter and the summers are a lot longer (Mary Kamookak A1:315).

Mary had also heard stories that were passed down about summers before her time when the sea-ice never broke up in Simpson Strait. Mary: … there were times when the ice in Simpson Strait wouldn’t have gone and it would freeze again…in the early ‘70s. …there are stories from way back when that happened a lot, too. People who were staying in Richardson Point went home only after it froze because they couldn’t get to Gjoa Haven over the whole summer. …stories of some years where the ice never went, [or] even the snow. When the birds nested, you could see them because they were black little dots on the islands. Darren: That was in your time? Mary: No, way before my time (Mary Kamookak A1:316-318).

In recent years, Mathew Tiriganiaq observed break-up happening in mid-July, and sometimes even in the first week of July. Jackie Ameralik remembered one year recently when that occurred. (in English) I remember that in 1989 the ice went away on July 1 (Jackie Ameralik A1:615).

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The late freeze-up and the early break-up of the sea-ice observed in the study area could be an indicator of climate change. Icebergs and Multi-Year Ice One change that many of the interviewees found to be significant was the disappearance of icebergs from the study area. George Kamookak remembered that there were icebergs larger than his two storey house off of Cape Felix in 1959 (A2:39). Before Louie was born. So over 40 years ago—around 1959—it was smooth in this area [Humboldt Channel]. Beyond Cape Felix there were lots of piqalujaq [icebergs]. It is not like that anymore. Most times it used to be like that down there. Now you rarely see them (George Kamookak A2:35).

There were still icebergs in the area after polar bear tags came into use in 1967 (George Kamookak A2:43). Bob Konana explained that the icebergs were still plentiful when people were still using dog teams. But when snowmobile came into use in the early to mid-1970s there began to be fewer. When I was young, in the time when we almost finished using dog teams, there used to be big icebergs (piqalujaq) and now there are none. There used to be lots of icebergs when there were lots of polar bears. As the icebergs disappeared there seemed to be [fewer] polar bears. When we used to use dog teams there were lots of icebergs, and when we started to use skidoos [snowmobile] there were still some but they were farther apart, and recently there are none. There used to be icebergs that were higher than this wall [8 feet (2.5 m)] and one time I shot a bear just as it was climbing up on an iceberg [this was at Uplutuuq] (Bob Konana A1:30-33).

Louie Kamookak went out hunting by dog team with his grandfather Qukshuun in about 1973 and he saw icebergs then. There were also people with snowmobiles at this time (A1:95). George Kamookak felt that when snowmobiles first came into use, the icebergs were not only fewer, but also smaller in size.

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I think about the time when we first started getting skidoos [maybe the early 70s], I saw a few icebergs but they were not really high (George Kamookak A1:239).

Paul Eleeheetook remembered that after he started using a snowmobile the number of icebergs seen was already dramatically reduced. Darren: Around what year did you notice that there [weren’t] anymore [icebergs]? Paul: I am not too sure, but it was after I started going by snowmobile that there [were] hardly any. When I was hunting by snowmobile the [number] of icebergs was decreasing and a few years later you [didn’t] see any more…. After that I [didn’t go] out polar bear hunting, … for … 4 or 5 years now I have never heard from the guides of icebergs out on the sea ice (Paul Eleeheetook A1:560-561).

The specific timing of the disappearance of the icebergs is difficult to assess, as the definition of a true iceberg (piqalujaq) vs. a piece of multi-year ice (hikutuqaq) is a subjective assessment. Older hunters might not consider a particular piece of multi-year ice to be large enough to be considered a piqalujaq, when compared to their size in the past. Younger hunters who might never have seen the larger piqalujait may have considered there to be piqalujait more recently than older hunters. An example of this is the comparison of the observations of Jerry Arqviq and George Konana. Jerry found that icebergs were starting to become smaller and fewer in 1984, and had all but disappeared in the late 1990s. Jerry (in English): Around ‘84, that is when I started to notice that there were [fewer] icebergs. … we always saw icebergs between Uplutuuq and Boothia, but later I started noticing that there were lower piqalujaqs—smaller. But I didn’t realize that they were going to go away. I thought that they were going to be there all the time. Darren: When was the first time that you noticed that there [weren’t] any? Jerry: Just recently in the late 1990s. When me and Ben went polar bear hunting uqsuuqtuuq nuvuanut [to Cape Felix] on the north side. He told me that these piqalujaqs are really small now. That is when I noticed (Jerry Arqviq A3:372-374).

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George Konana considered icebergs to have disappeared around the early 1980s (George Konana A3:77). Elder Paul Eleeheetook reported that in 1997 or 1998, the last time he went down to Larsen Sound, there were no icebergs. When I first came around here, there used to be a lot of icebergs, but now the ice conditions are smooth [new ice]. When I first started going … north of King William Island there used to be icebergs, and there used to be a lot of polar bears around them, but now you hardly see any icebergs … anymore, …it is like there is hardly any more polar bears. …four or five years ago was the last time I was down … on the seaice, and I have never seen icebergs like I used to, even along the shore you could see icebergs [before], but now there are no icebergs around (Paul Eleeheetook A1:569).

Although there may not be consensus on when exactly the last icebergs were seen, IQ documents a decrease in the size and number of icebergs in Larsen Sound, and the study area as a whole from at least the early 1970s to the winter of 2001. Multi-year ice in general has drastically decreased in size and amount during this period. There seems to be less old ice [now]. The icebergs were old ice …when they start being [fewer] and there is more new ice it gets rougher along the shore. The ice keeps piling up as it freezes, it keeps pushing on the shore, and recently it gets really rough on the shore (Bob Konana A1:42).

Remarkably, Elders Bob Konana and George Kamookak reported sighting what they considered to be small icebergs near Cape Felix during the April 2002 field trip (A2:185). As noted earlier, the decrease and disappearance of icebergs from the study area is seen by many to be linked to the decline in polar bear numbers. Right now, there are no icebergs and that is probably one reason for the decrease in the polar bear population. (Mathew Tiriganiaq A1: 611).

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The drastic reduction in multi-year ice and icebergs is another possible indicator of climate change as observed by Gjoa Haven Inuit. This change in the sea ice has certainly altered polar bear feeding habitat, which may have consequences for polar bears in the study area. Jerry making iglu; field trip 3-16 April 2002. Photo courtesy Darren Keith.

Snow Another environmental change that may signal climate change in the study area is the late arrival of snowfall, and the decrease in yearly snow accumulation. These days we don’t get much snow for a long time. In the past we always used to get snow earlier, and now we don’t get much snow for a long time (Bob Konana A1:113).

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It seems to take longer to get snow now than before (George Kamookak A1:260). Recently I think that there is less snow [and it is] coming in late. … in the old days the snow would come earlier. But recently, …it takes longer for the snow to come in (Jimmy Kikut A1:694).

In the period from the mid-1940s to the early 1950s, Jimmy Kikkut remembers that his family would be living in igluit (snow houses) by late November or early December. Around the end of November and early December … we would have igluit built by then. But now even at this time of year you can’t build an iglu [for] lack of snow (Jimmy Kikut A1:696).

At present, according to Jimmy Kikut one could not even build an iglu at the end of January or beginning of February, when the interview was conducted. Bob Konana remembered that the first snow accumulations used to begin in September, and that now the snow comes slightly later, and it does not accumulate to the depth that it did in the past (Bob Konana, A1:127). The difficulty in building an iglu in recent times has come not only from the relative lack of accumulated snow, but from the quality of the snow. It has become much more hard-packed. I also noticed a difference in the snow for iglu building. In early days it was always the right kind of snow.... Now it is too hard—it gets harder… sometimes … it gets too soft [when it gets warm]. It doesn’t seem to be the right snow for iglu building anymore (Bob Konana A1:129). I noticed a difference too. Before we used to always make [an] iglu and it was easy to cut and now it seems … impossible to cut a snow block in some areas. I noticed that it is like that around King William Island. It seems … in this area it hardly snows, and once it snows it blows away. In some other areas it snows and stays. I went for a walk a few days ago and I noticed that the snowdrifts were very very hard and the only way to take them off would be to chop them. … There seems to be a lot less snow and

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Bob Konana could not pinpoint when he first noticed these changes, and referred to the differences in the conditions from year to year. Louie Kamookak does remember when he first noticed these changes. Between about 1976 and 1982 Louie was going out on the trap line with his father George Kamookak. When they first started going out together he remembered the snow being good for making igluit as soon as the trapping season opened on November 1. However, in the mid-1980s he noticed that the snow was starting to come later, and that the snow was getting harder, so that from then until today, it has become impossible to find good snow for an iglu at the start of November. Louie also commented that, in the mid-1980s, the first snow falls would accumulate on the ground and then melt. He recalls hearing Elders in the mid1980s talking about this as being unheard of in earlier days. Louie feels that the harder snow conditions are due to periods of warmer temperatures in the fall that cause the snow to melt and then freeze again (Louie Kamookak, personal communication, July 29, 2002). During the field trip in April 2002, Bob Konana commented that there was very little snow accumulation. Some of the areas that often had dens in the past could not support dens this year due to lack of snow. There is really no snow all around this year, on the ocean [or] on the land. The Ujarahugjulik islands .. the denning areas on that island, the little cliff … really didn’t have any snow. When I saw a den with a polar bear in that area there was more snow around. … It was not long ago, before Nunavut9. Maybe 1998 or close to it. It was a mother and a nalitqariqhiniq (Bob Konana A2:202). 9

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As discussed above, changes in snow accumulations and hardness might be affecting the suitability of the study area for polar bear denning. Freshwater Ice As is the case with the sea-ice, freshwater ice is forming later in the fall. In the past, ice used to begin to form on lakes gradually, before the first snow accumulations. It used to [be] that … small lakes … used to freeze slowly. …. Now it takes longer for them to start freezing, but they freeze suddenly. You start getting snow and then they freeze. Before, it would freeze before you would even get snow... In those days, just to point out the difference, …we used to fish [during] spawning; we used to [catch] them with the kakivak [leister] in the lakes [when] the females had all the eggs in their bellies. We used to do that on top of the ice. Nowadays you don’t see that anymore. Now when the lakes are frozen the females have already laid their eggs (Bob Konana A1:116-117). The lakes used to freeze early and I used to always …fish by kakivak through ice holes, but now you don’t see them anymore. It is too late [the lakes freeze too late] and the eggs are all gone. It used to freeze before it snowed, and people used to make qarmat [winter huts] out of snow… (George Kamookak A1:289).

In the past then, the lakes would be frozen in time for Inuit to catch char with the kakivak (leister—a 3-pronged fish spear) while the females still had eggs. According to David Aglukkaq this was in October. It was around October that it used to freeze around this area. And before the eggs left the fish it used to freeze, but now there are no eggs in the fish when it freezes… I noticed before it used to freeze early… (David Aglukkaq A1:767).

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Bob Konana noted that the lakes used to freeze in September (A1:121), and that now lakes start to freeze in October. It would be towards the end of August when we started getting frost and then in September when the lakes froze. Now the lakes only start freezing in October (A1:121).

Mary Kamookak remembered that the lakes were already frozen on the date her child was born in September. It used to freeze earlier even when Rabbie was born, on September 20, 1964. When she was born the lakes were already frozen (Mary Kamookak A1:313).

In recent years, Jerry Arqviq feels that lakes are not freezing until around the middle of October. Jerry (in English): Most times right now when we go [and] put nets out in the lakes, we seem to go later than the older days. It seems to be warmer in the fall time. So it seems to be freezing up later than in the older days. Darren: So when does it freeze up now? Jerry: Middle of October. But it seems to be kind of late. Darren: And when did it used to freeze-up? Jerry: It is like it used to always freeze up in September—the lakes (Jerry Arqviq A3:434-438).

Jerry Arqviq, born in 1959, also remembered a time when the lakes used to freeze in September. Based on the above observations, it seems that the freeze-up time for freshwater lakes has shifted from two to three weeks later in the fall.

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Other Observations on Environmental Change As evidenced by the changes to the freeze-up and break-up of lakes and sea-ice, the temperatures in the study area are now warmer. Right now on King William Island it is a lot different, it is a lot hotter and the summers are a lot longer (Mary Kamookak A1:315).

There are other indicators of climate change than those already mentioned. For example, Mary Kamookak has observed the arrival of new species of insects to King William Island, insects that were formerly known to be found only inland—on the mainland. ... a long time ago when we used to camp at Kaleet River way up inland there used to be insects that you could only see when you were way up there. And …we had a camp in Simpson Strait on the island, [and] through the years there [were] a few [insects] that we saw, and now there are lots of … insects that you used to only see … inland. …it is really warm now, and the insects that never used to be here are now here (Mary Kamookak A1:315).

An additional observation that may be linked to the changes in snow accumulation is the dryingup of some small rivers in the study area (Bob Konana and George Kamookak A2:214). Mathew Tiriganiaq referred to the connection between winter snow accumulations and water levels in the rivers. I don’t really know about the snow conditions or the amount of snow in the past years, but I know … from being told [by] other people, that the more snow you have, the more water you will get the next spring. When I was younger, there used to be a lot of snow around riverbanks, but now some of the rivers don’t exist anymore (Mathew Tiriganiaq A1:620).

The prevailing wind direction in the study area used to be from the northwest. Recently that has changed, and winds are now characterized by their strength, and the lack of a prevailing

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direction. Hunters who have traditionally used the snowdrifts, formed by the prevailing wind, to navigate have noticed this change. I haven’t noticed that the wind really changed but when the wind picks up it seems to get stronger … stronger winds than we used to have before (Bob Konana A1:199). (in English)…when I was young, when we still used dog teams, we used … the snowdrifts for direction of travel. The snowdrifts … were quite solid. …. These days, I notice that there are snowdrifts pointing in any direction. It is hard to tell the direction from the snow. There seem to be strong winds from every direction now. Even though you still see drifts from the north wind, you also see snowdrifts from other directions. … as a kid .. I was asked once to take a trader from Gjoa Haven to Taloyoak by dog team. I had never gone so I didn’t know the direction, but my father-in-law told me to use the direction of the snowdrifts. And I went straight to Taloyoak without even knowing the way. The snowdrifts from the north used to be very noticeable. Today if I was trying to figure out the direction from the drifts, I couldn’t. We used to camp here [pointed on the map] too, and I used to travel back and forth between there and Gjoa Haven by using the snowdrifts (Bob Konana A1:200-201). Darren: So how has the orientation of the snowdrifts changed? Jerry: I am not really sure, but there seem to be hardly any snowdrifts, or [it] seem[s] to be hard to tell where they are going. They seem to be changing …directions [from] in the older days when I used to follow them. They seem to be more this way.... It [used] to be easy to spot those snowdrifts, and they [used] to be easy to follow. But … now when we try to follow the snowdrifts after so many distance there is a different one already (Jerry Arqviq A3:520-521).

Taken together, the interviewees have observed many phenomena that could be indicators of climate change in the study area. The observed environmental changes identified might now or in the future have consequences for polar bears and the Inuit way of life.

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Polar Bear Population and Distribution Inuit Qaujimaningit of Polar Bear Mobility Any discussion of IQ related to changes in the numbers of polar bears in the study area must begin with IQ of polar bear mobility. IQ indicates that polar bears, like other animals, come and go depending on the local availability of appropriate environmental conditions and the availability of prey species. Polar bears are also sensitive to human activity, and may leave or discontinue using an area due to disturbance. Because of the sensitivity of polar bears and to variability of environmental conditions and of prey species from year to year, polar bears are understood to be plentiful in some years, and scarce in other years. (in English) But …every year…it is not the same… [north of King William Island]. Some years you see a lot of bears and some years you … hardly ever see them, but the next year there is a whole bunch of them around. Sometimes [there aren’t many], but there [are] always bears down there (George Konana A3:79). It has always been the case of … plenty of bears in some years and other years … hardly … any bears around. Especially in the old days when we only hunted with dog teams, the bears were quite plentiful …now with loud machines they tend to stay away from the activities of people …when their food is plentiful and they are healthy in numbers, … we might be lucky to get one, so it sometimes depends on the food and their population and perhaps the weather conditions (George Kamookak Video Transcript).

Elder Bob Konana’s understanding of polar bear movement allows that the polar bears that are hunted by Gjoa Haven hunters move freely between the west and east sides of the Boothia Peninsula. He explains this occurrence by citing the experience of other hunters, and giving examples of the many varied and unusual places the polar bears have been caught.

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Darren: Is there any way of telling the difference between the polar bears in Boothia and McClintock Channel? Bob: The polar bears in McClintock Channel and Boothia are the same polar bears. I know that they migrate through the land in the winter or in the summer over the Boothia Penninsula. Darren: Have you seen that? Bob: I heard stories and heard from people who actually saw them. In the summer they travel across land. Even in the Repulse Bay area people have sighted them moving up north. They never stop. Just last year someone caught a polar bear down there—John Anaidjak [near Shepard Bay]. Paul Iqualaaq caught one down near the old lodge by Itimnaarjuk [near the mouth of the Back River]. They used to catch polar bears down around Rasmussen Basin (Bob Konana A1:184-188).

Gideon Qitsualik agreed concerning the movement of polar bears, although he specified a broader area over which polar bears may travel. Last year there were no polar bears but right now [they] have moved to the Gulf of Boothia and maybe the other way towards Victoria Island, but these polar bears are going to be back. Some months there could be no polar bears and another month there will be lots … in the same spot. I just want to make it straight that the same polar bears that go to Greenland and Resolute Bay and Holman Island … are the same polar bears. Sometimes they tend to stay in one area for a while and they move on some years. I used to live towards Baffin, and some years there were no polar bears and some years there were lots …, because [they are] the same polar bears traveling towards Greenland and back (Gideon Qitsualik A1:364-367).

Because polar bears move freely it is understood that sometimes they are absent for a time. For instance, when commenting on the fact that there are fewer bears available to hunters at present, David Aglukkaq said: The bears seem to be away right now. There seems to be [fewer] bears (David Aglukkaq A1:776).

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For Mathew Tiriganiaq, the fact that polar bears or other animals can be away for a while is normal. From what I have heard [from Inuit tradition] the animals are gone for a number of years but they will be back. I know that the bears will be back in this area from what I have been told by my Elders and other people. … Even for some other animals, in some years there are hardly any fish, and in some other years they come back and there are more fish. When I was a kid there was a lot of muskox around. When I was growing up I thought that I would never see a muskox, but now there are a lot of muskox around. All animals are like that. They will be gone for a number of years, but then they will be back again (Mathew Tiriganiaq A1:599)

Whether the current situation of fewer polar bears is the result of over-hunting in the study area, or to bears leaving the study area, the IQ related to polar bear mobility allows that this will inevitably be overcome due to the natural inclination of animals to move. Darren: And how do you see that population replenishing itself? Mathew: I know that animals move around a lot. Bears move around a lot. They will come from other places. There are some residential bears around, but I know that they will reproduce. I know that they will be back one way or another (Mathew Tiriganiaq A1:650-651).

IQ related to polar bear mobility is central to understanding polar bear population dynamics. It is one of the reasons given by informants for the current lower numbers of polar bears in the study area.

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Changing Polar Bear Encounters Gjoa Haven hunters have observed a decrease in the number of bears in the study area, since the introduction of snowmobile use in the early 1970s. The study’s three senior Elders mentioned they noticed a change after snowmobile use became popular. I used to always see polar bears when we [would] go by dog team, but since skidoos it seems to get harder (David Aglukkaq A1:736). Even in the time of snowmobiles there were quite a few polar bears in the area of the island and the western side of Boothia Peninsula. Back then [in the early snowmobile days] there were quite a few, but recently it has become hard to find male bears and big male bears... The polar bear surveys said it was harder to find bigger bears. There are some smaller [ones]. …. We have to go further north to find the bigger bears. Closer it is mostly females, cubs and smaller bears. I am pretty sure that the big bears came close to the shores of King William Island, but it is harder to find them. Even around the King William Island shoreline or Victoria Strait it is harder to track bears... Recently the bears … seem to be easier to see further north (Bob Konana A2:52). George: I used to go down a few times by dog team … to Cape Felix, and there used to be a lot of signs of polar bears hunting seals, because they break the seal holes. But recently since we started going by skidoo there seems to be [fewer] polar bears. Darren: When did you start noticing this? George: …when I started going by skidoo and we heard of [fewer] people catching polar bears down in that area. When they used dog teams there used to be people living down in the Tununiq area and Port Parry and they used to always go down and hunt polar bears when the daylight started getting longer. And they used to always catch polar bears (George Kamookak A1:227-229).

According to the above statements, there seems to have been a noticeable decrease in the number of bear encounters in traditionally hunted areas since the 1970s. More recently, the

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shortage has become more acute in the areas closest to Gjoa Haven, where they would traditionally hunt. It was around 1990 that I noticed the decreasing population of polar bears (Mathew Tiriganiaq A1:603).

At about the same time, George Konana remembers that hunters had to travel farther north to find mature male polar bears. When asked if he noticed any changes in the number of polar bears north of King William Island he responded: George (in English): Yeah I think so. Because years ago when we first started going down there [were] bears right here. Right in this area. Most of the time we would just hang around here. Darren: Between Clarence Islands and Tennent Islands? George: Yeah. We didn’t have to go all the way down here, one time, just right in this area here [between Clarence Islands and Tennent Islands]. Darren: So when did you start having to go farther? George: Around the late ‘80s, ‘90s I guess, we started having to go further (George Konana A3:3).

Paul Eleeheetook expressed the extent of the decreased number of mature male polar bears, in response to the question “Have you seen any changes since you started going up there in the number of dens around?” Yes, I have seen big changes. Right now there are no mature males, big males. I have not gone polar bear hunting for 3 or 4 years now (Paul Eleeheetook A1:552-553).

The three Elders with the most authority on IQ of polar bears all stated independently that they noticed a marked reduction in the number of polar bears in the study area around the time the snowmobile came into common use. More recently—perhaps around the late ‘80s or early ‘90s — the number of mature male bears had become so low in the popular hunting area between the

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Clarence and Tennent Islands northeast of King William Island, that hunters started to have to travel longer distances to find them. There is less agreement between informants on the reasons why there are fewer polar bears. Reasons for Decline in Polar Bear Numbers There are two reasons held by Gjoa Haven hunters to explain why there are fewer polar bears in the study area—bear mobility and harvest quotas. One explanation is that polar bears have moved away due to changes in their habitat or disturbances caused by human activity. The other is that the hunters from three communities (Cambridge Bay, Taloyoak and Gjoa Haven) have been consistently filling all the tags allocated in their quotas, and this is not allowing male bears to mature. Some hunters believe both reasons are part of the explanation, while others feel that the mobility of polar bears alone is the answer. All the informants believe that the absence of polar bears is at least partially related to their mobility. However, some, like Gideon Qitsualik, attribute the decrease in polar bear numbers to migration due to the absence of multi-year ice, and he rejects the idea of overharvesting. When they started managing them with quotas, I know there [were many] bears, because before … quotas we used to catch a lot of polar bears. They always say that the population has declined but it has not declined, [the bears] are just moving. The arctic is very big and the polar bears—they move to different areas.. to old ice. … If the ice is completely gone, the polar bear goes with the old ice. …I don’t have any concern about global warming, but I know that if the old ice goes, the polar bear goes (Gideon Qitsualik A1:370).

The importance of multi-year ice and icebergs as habitat was discussed earlier in the book. Mathew Tiriganiaq also feels that the relationship between multi-year ice, icebergs and polar bears is part of the answer to the absence of polar bears.

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Informants referred to examples from the past that demonstrate the sensitivity of polar bears to disturbance. The two hill Iviangirnaq was once well known as a polar bear denning place, but after a new inuksuk (stone cairn) was built there, the polar bears no longer returned to den. When a navigational beacon was erected on the small island of Napaqtilik north of Hiuraarjuaq, this also kept polar bears from returning there to den. They used to den in the Iviangirnaq area… and then someone built an inuksuk there and they didn’t come anymore. The same thing happened over on the small island north of Hiuraarjuaq [Napaqtilik]. Someone put up a marker there and they didn’t den there anymore (Bob Konana A1:190).

On a larger scale, polar bear were once in the Ugjulik and Queen Maud Gulf regions, and were hunted in dens in the islands of those areas. After DEW line sites were built and came into operation at Jenny Lind and Hat Islands, the polar bears left the area. Peter Apiana was employed at the Hat Island DEW line site in 1956 or 1957, and when he was asked if polar bears had dens on Hat Island after the DEW line was set up, he responded: [laughing] After the planes started coming there, the bears didn’t show up there anymore (Peter Apiana A3:718). There used to always be polar bears in the Ugjulik area. The people who were hunting seal down there used to always see polar bears. Today it is different, you hardly hear of people seeing, sighting or seeing tracks in that area (George Kamookak A1:266).

There are two main causes of disturbance that are discussed by Gjoa Haven hunters— snowmobiles and aircraft. Bob Konana feels that the absence of polar bears is due to a

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combination of factors. Bears have been disturbed by the snowmachines of the hunters themselves, as well as the helicopters of polar bear researchers. Yes, when we were young we used to hunt polar bears … we used dog teams then, they were more plentiful and we would often see tracks of bigger bears over by the point... But now that we have snowmobiles to hunt with, I think they tend to stay away because of the noise and are more afraid to venture out due to the noise. I feel that machines have a lot to do with their fewer numbers. We only hunt now with snowmobiles. …I also think it's because their food is not as close to the shore as they used to be. But I think it's mainly due to disturbances such as … noises… …perhaps [because] of the helicopters, too, when they do research…. I'm not sure, but that's what I think (Bob Konaaq Video Transcript).

Bob Konana also refers, above, to a change in the location of polar bear feeding habitat as a reason for the movement of the bears. He has also linked the absence of multi-year ice and icebergs with the absence of polar bears. There used to be lots of icebergs when there were lots of polar bears. As the icebergs disappeared there seemed to be [fewer] polar bears (Bob Konana A1:266).

Bob Konana also sees the constant hunting pressure from three communities as a reason for the decline in polar bear numbers. Specifically, too many mature male bears are being taken every year, without allowing time for younger bears to grow and replace those taken. I think that they have been hunted out because three communities get so many tags every year. Bears don’t grow [to maturity] every year, so bears around King William Island and Boothia Peninsula have been hunted out. … Even before tags we were hunting bears, but there were bears then. We may not have gone every year, but almost. ... Ever since we got tags we have been catching more than usual. Everyone is looking for big bears and money [for skins] right now. Before, we were just looking for meat. I think that they have been catching more than in the earlier days (Bob Konana A2:59-60).

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George Kamookak also feels that the low number of polar bears in the study is due to a number of factors including disturbance, habitat change, and hunting pressure. When I used to go hunting by dog team … there were bears close by even at Hiuraarjuaq and there were quite a few bears. I am not sure what caused the bears to go away or to be fewer. When hunters go out on skidoos, the volume of the machines is loud. And, there are more [non-Inuit] hunters [that] come every year for the polar bear hunt; and the condition of the ocean has changed. It is harder to find seal holes in the new rough ice than in the smooth new ice and around piqalujat. It is easier to find polar bears around piqalujat. And maybe because of the planes and helicopters. Maybe they are flying more... Darren: Is there any effect from the three communities hunting the bears? George: After the tags were put out to those three communities …. We were told to catch mostly males. [There are] three communities trying to fill their tags every year. That could be the reason for there being [fewer] big male bears. Before we had tags we hunted any polar bear, even if it was a small one. We just got it for food. After the tags we were told to try and get the biggest bear and try to save the females. Maybe that is why there are fewer big male bears (George Kamookak A2:103).

For the hunters of Gjoa Haven, polar bears are scarce in the study area as a result of habitat change and disturbances, and because the mature males have been selectively hunted over many years. Health of Polar Bears Although there may be fewer bears in the study area at present, it would seem that the health of individual bears has not changed and they appear to be as fat as usual. I have never seen any changes, and all the bears that I have caught have been healthy and fat. I have never caught a skinny polar bear. I have never seen an unhealthy animal—polar bear, caribou or seals (Paul Eleeheetook A1:569).

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When I started noticing the decrease I had never seen an unhealthy polar bear. The only time I saw [one] was when I went with another guy and he caught a really skinny polar bear. That was around the early 1980s (Mathew Tiriganiaq A1:605). I have seen lots of bears and I have never seen an unhealthy bear (Jimmy Kikut A1:690).

The single male polar bear that was seen during the April field trip was described as very healthy and fat.

Photo courtesy Brian Fleming (Qikiqtamiut Cookbook 2001: 21)

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Conclusion Inuit have been hunting polar bears for centuries and in that time they have built up a rich knowledge about polar bear habitat and behaviour. This knowledge is expressed in the oral traditions, Inuktitut vocabulary and cultural traditions that surround polar bears, polar bear hunting and polar bear meat sharing. Elder hunters in Gjoa Haven were the recipients of this knowledge and they have continued to add to this body of knowledge through a lifetime of experience. As is the case with many areas of knowledge in Inuit society, the maintenance of Inuit knowledge of polar bears depends on the continuation of the cultural traditions and activities in which it is imbedded. Polar bear hunting and the travel associated with it must continue to be undertaken for all the associated skills, vocabulary and knowledge that it carried to be passed on. Polar bear meat must be shared and eaten for its cultural and social significance to continue. A decline in this knowledge is already being felt among middle-aged polar bear hunters such as the co-authors of this book. Inuit knowledge of polar bears in Gjoa Haven is threatened by several factors. At the time of publication, the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization did not have a memorandum of understanding that includes hunting any polar bears in the McClintock Channel Management Area. Negotiations continue to allow a very small number of bears to be taken in this area. The change in the sea-ice habitat of the polar bear identified by Inuit knowledge may be affecting the population, and if it continues it could have long-term impacts on polar bears and the ability of Inuit to undertake hunting activities. Fluency in the Inuktitut language among young people in Gjoa Haven is decreasing, and even if a certain level of fluency can be maintained through formal education, instruction is unlikely to include specialized vocabulary and concepts associated with subsistence activities such as polar bear hunting.

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References / Further Reading Arima, Eugene. 1976. ‘An assessment of the reliability of informant recall,’ pp 31-38 in Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project: Volume II: Supporting Studies. Ottawa: Ministry of Supply and Services. Atatahak, Gerry and Banci, Vivian. 2001. Traditional Knowledge Polar Bear Report. Prepared for the Department of Sustainable Development, Kugluktuk. Barr, William. 1996. ‘White Bearers of a Monstrous Bigness:’ A Historical Survey of Polar Bear Population Dynamics and Use in the Northwest Territories. Unpublished report for the Department of Renewable Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories. Brice-Bennett, Carol. 1976. ‘Inuit Land Use in the East-Central Canadian Arctic,’ pp 63-81 in Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project: Volume I: Land Use and Occupancy. Ottawa: Ministry of Supply and Services. Farquharson, Don. 1976. ‘Inuit Land-Use in the West-Central Arctic,’ pp 33-61 in Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project: Volume I: Land Use and Occupancy. Ottawa: Ministry of Supply and Services. Ferguson, Michael A.D. and Francois Messier. 1997. Collection and Analysis of Traditional Knowledge About a Population of Arctic Tundra Caribou. Arctic 50(1): 17-28. Fienup-Riordan, Ann. 1999. Yaqulget Qaillun Pilartat. What the Birds Do: Yup’ik Eskimo Understanding of Geese and Those Who Study Them. Arctic 52(1): 1-22. Freeman, Milton, ed. 1976. Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project: Volume I: Land Use and Occupancy. Ottawa: Ministry of Supply and Services. Freeman, M.M.R. 1993. ‘Traditional land users as a legitimate source of environmental expertise’ pp 153-161 in Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Wisdom for Sustainable Development. Canberra: Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australian National University. Gunn, G., Arlooktoo, G., Ashevak, J., Jones, L., and Kaomayok, D. 1991. Polar Bear Denning Surveys in the Kitikmeot Region, 1977-86. Yellowknife: Department of Renewable Resources, Manuscript Report No. 45. Huntington, H.P. 1998. Observations on the utility of the semi-directive interview for documenting traditional ecological knowledge. Arctic 51(3): 237-242. Jingfors, Kent and Kaomayok, David. 1984. Polar Bear Denning Survey Along Storkerson Peninsula, Stefansson and Kilian Islands, N.W.T. Yellowknife: N.W.T. Wildlife Service, Manuscript Report. Kalaxdorff 1997. Collection of Local Knowledge Regarding Polar Bear Habitat Use in Alaska. Anchorage: USFWS Technical Report MMM 97-2. Keith, Darren and Joan Scottie. 2001. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit Hilap Alangurninganut (Inuit Traditional Knowledge of Climate Change): A Sample of Inuit Experiences of Climate Change in Nunavut. Baker Lake and Arviat, Nunavut. January– March, 2001. Unpublished Report for Nunavut Government, Department of Sustainable Development.

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Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. 2001a. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit on the polar bears of the McClintock Channel area. Interview with Frank Analok. March 14, 2001. Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. 2001b. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit on the polar bears of the McClintock Channel area. Interview with Matthew Nakashook. March 14, 2001. Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. 2001c. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit on the polar bears of the McClintock Channel area. Interview with Peter Avalak. March 15, 2001. Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. N.W.T. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1980. Important Areas of Polar Bear Distribution. Map. Revised January 1980. N.W.T. Fish and Wildlife Service. Owingayak, David. 1986. Arctic Survival Book. Arviat: Inuit Cultural Institute. Rasmussen, Knud. 1931. The Netsilik Eskimos: Social Life and Spiritual Culture. Volume 7, Number 1-2. Report of the Fifth Thule Expedition 1921-1924. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandel, Nordisk Forlag. Riewe, Rick. ed. 1992. Nunavut Atlas. Edmonton: Canadian Circumpolar Institute and Tungavik Federation of Nunavut, Circumpolar Research Series No. 2. Schneider, Lucien. 1985. Ulirnaisigutiit: An Inuktitut-English Dictionary of Northern Quebec, Labrador and Eastern Arctic Dialects. Québec: Les Presses de l’Université Laval. Schweinsburg, R.E. 1981. A brief history of polar bear management in the NWT. Yellowknife: Northwest Territories Wildlife Notes, no. 2. Spencer, W. and R.E. Schweinsburg. 1979. Polar Bear Denning Area at Gateshead Island, Northwest Territories. Yellowknife: N.W.T. Wildlife Service, File Report No. 1. Stirling, Ian. 1998. Polar Bears. Markham: Fitzhenry and Whiteside. Stirling, Ian. 2002. Personal Communication. March 20, 2002. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1995. Habitat Conservation Strategy for Polar Bears in Alaska. Anchorage, AK: Marine Mammals Management. Usher, Peter. 1971. Usher, Peter. 1971. Fur Trade Posts of the Northwest Territories 1870-1970. Ottawa: Northern Science Research Group: Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Usher, Peter J. 2000. Traditional Knowledge in Environmental Assessment and Management. Arctic 53(2): 183-193. Wenzel, George. 1983. Inuit and Polar Bears: Cultural Observations from a Hunt near Resolute Bay, N.W.T. Arctic 36(1): 90-94. Wenzel, G.W. and F. Bourgouin. n.d. Outfitted Polar Bear Hunting, Community Economy and Species Conservation in the Kitikmeot and Qikiqtaaluk Regions of Nunavut. Iqaluit, Nunavut: Department of Sustainable Development, Final Report. Williams, Dave and Jingors, Kent. 1983. Polar Bear Denning Survey, Gateshead Island, N.W.T. Yellowknife: N.W.T. Wildlife Service, Manuscript Report 10.

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Appendix 1: Interview transcripts: 31 January 2002 The Iviangirnaq hills are good for denning. He also pointed out other little islands where there are dens including: Uplutuuq, Kingiktuarjuk, Haglaarjuk, Ujarahugjulik. Also a small island to the east of Clarence islands (Ujarahugjulik) has dens. 6. We decided that we will talk about denning sites in the past and then move forward in time to the last few times the hunters went out and compare the findings. 7. Bob: When we used to have dog teams there used to be lots of polar bears. I even heard that at the tip of Cape Felix the ground used to get hard from all the tracks of the mating polar bears. It used to get packed. 8. the bears seemed to Bob to travel around the edge of Larsen Sound close to the shores of Boothia Peninsula, Prince of Wales Island, Gateshead Island, Collinson Peninsula, Admiralty Island, and around the north end of King William Island—counter-clockwise. 9. It is usually rough ice around the land and the islands and in the middle of Larsen Sound it is very smooth. The bears tend to be around the rough ice and are rarely in the middle. 10. Darren: This is because the rough ice provides good seal habitat? 11. Bob: The areas around the shore where the ice piles up, there are a lot of seals. In the middle the ice is smooth. 12. Bob: Usually around the shore and around the islands there are more seals than out in the middle of the ocean. There are seals out there but there are less [lower density]. It is probably because it is way out in the ocean. 13. Bob: There is usually less tracks here [in the middle of Larsen Sound] early before people go down, but when the Gjoa Haven people start hunting and when the Taloyoak people start hunting there is more polar bears when there is no disturbance along the 5.

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Meeting with Bob Konana—31 January 2002 (Interviewed by Darren Keith and Louie Kamookak) Bob got his first bear along the shoreline southwest of Inglis Bay in the Rasmussen Basin. Bob got his second bear near the outlet of Thom Bay at the mouth of a river named Kuuk. Bob points out on the WAC-C11 Chart that bears have denned all over the north end of King William Island where there are high hills from north of Peel Inlet around to Collinson Inlet.

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shores. But when the people from Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak start hunting there seem to be more bears in the middle. 14. Darren: And it is not good habitat out there. 15. Bob:I have seen a few seal kills in the centre [of Larsen Sound] but I always see less than along the shore. 16. Darren: Does the McClintock Channel to the northwest and the Peel Sound area have bears? 17. Bob: People hardly go to this area [the actual McClintock Channel]. 18. Darren: Has that always been the case? 19. Bob: There used to always be people living in Kinngailak [Prince of Wales Island]. 20. Darren: Who were they? 21. Bob: The people who lived in the Thom Bay, Netsilik Lake [Nattilik] areas lived up there. 22. Darren: So they were real Nattilingmiut? 23. Bob: Yes. There was probably some people who came from this area too [points to Illuiliq—Adelaide Peninsula]. 24. Bob: There used to be polar bears around this area [points to the Ugjulik area [the sea full of islands west of Adelaide Peninsula]. 25. Darren: And are there still bears there. 26. Konana: There used to be lots of polar bears in this area but now there seems to be less [talking about Larsen Sound], but they always count the bears after the people have started hunting and that is when the bears move away. 27. Konana: If Larsen Sound area was open all the time like the Gulf of Boothia area there would always be polar bears around [to count], but since the whole ocean freezes they can go anywhere once they have been disturbed. [Larsen Sound] freezes because there is less current. 28. Apumiuviit = Polar Bear Dens 29. We should record the history of human use of the area including travel routes. 30. Bob: When I was young in the time when we almost finished using dog teams there used to be big icebergs (piqalujaq) and now there are none.

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Bob: There used to be lots of icebergs when there were lots of polar bears. As the icebergs disappeared there seemed to be less polar bears. 32. Bob: When we used to use dog teams there were lots of icebergs, and when we started to use skidoos there were still some but they were farther apart, and recently there are none. 33. Bob: There used to be icebergs that were higher than this wall [8 feet (2.5 m)] and one time I shot a bear just as it was climbing up on an iceberg. [this was at Ublutuuq] 34. Louie: We should find out when the icebergs disappeared. 35. Darren: There must be some kind of flow to the ice in the area. Does it move in a certain way? 36. Bob: [The ice comes down McClintock channel and Peel Sound and all comes south towards King William Island on the east and west sides]. When the icebergs hit the shallow areas they start breaking up and they disappear. 37. Darren: Was there an importance for the piqalujat for the polar bears? 38. Bob: There used to be a lot of polar bears around the icebergs. 39. Darren: Did the icebergs make good habitat for the seals? 40. Bob: There always used to be more seals around the icebergs when they are near the shore. They seem to cause the development of more cracks. 41. Darren: How else has the sea ice changed since they disappeared? 42. Bob: There seems to be less old ice [now]. The icebergs were old ice and when they start being less and there is more new ice it gets rougher along the shore. The ice keeps piling up as it freezes, it keeps pushing on the shore, and recently it gets really rough on the shore. 43. Darren: Does that have any impact on the seals? 44. Bob: I don’t think so, because there were always smooth areas and there were seals. There are lots of seals. It seems like when there are no more icebergs, there are less open cracks because those used to attract a lot of polar bears. 45. Darren: So the icebergs used to cause that 46. Louie: Yes, around them. 31.

Darren: Would it be possible to ask people to point out where there are places where there are always pressure ridges or cracks or open water? 48. Bob: [draws pressure ridge that is always present between Cape Felix and Clarence Islands and on to Hattiumaniq on the Boothia shore]. And also one that goes north/northwest from Cape Felix towards McClintock Channel. 49. Bob: And there are always cracks where there is shallow areas [points out an ikatlruq called Hangmaki off of Pasley Bay]. 50. Bob: They say that the polar bears from Hangmaki rip peoples arm off. 51. Darren: Is there anything special you do after you shoot a polar bear? 52. Bob: There is probably more but the only thing I know is that you have to take the liver out right away because if you are not going to skin it for a few minutes it is going to spoil the meat. When they used to use dog teams and they were not far from camp and they were going to drag it back to camp to skin it they would remove the liver first. But myself when I started going hunting I would usually just skin them right on the spot and remove the liver next. 53. Bob: Even if you catch a polar bear towards evening and you are going to build an iglu before skinning it, you have to take the liver out first. 54. Bob: When I was young, the polar bear I got here [at Thom Bay] and there were three hunters and none of us had a knife so one of the guys chewed on a rifle casing and used it as a knife to take the liver out. 55. Darren: Back in those early days were you shooting them for food, or for skins? Were you selling it? 56. Bob: Before there were tags we used to always hunt them mainly for food. There was not a good market for the furs so we would use the fur for clothing and it would be used mainly for meat. Back then we used to always eat frozen polar bear meat. People used to eat any kind of meat back then. It was good when I was young and even when I was young I used to eat frozen polar bear meat. 57. Darren: Did you hear anything about hunting them in the days before rifles?” 47.

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Bob: They used to hunt them with their snow knives or harpoons. Sometimes they would tie their snow knife to a stick or harpoon and hunt that way. And a lot of times they would just use their snow knife. There were always different people that polar bears don’t attack and there are others that are attacked. When people know that they won’t be attacked they can just kill them with their snow knives. 59. Darren: Why is that? 60. Bob: Even myself I don’t get chased or they don’t seem to notice me or that I am there. That is just the way they are. They are animals. You will probably get more stories from other people. 61. Darren: You know when the first anthropologist came through here he remarked on how many amulets the people here had—I wonder if there was anything for the polar bear? 62. Bob: Those amulets seemed to be very popular. Even I used to have some. It was a lot of time for animals, to be protected from a specific animal or to always catch so many animals, or be good at catching them or anything. Be a fast runner. It was always for good luck. 63. Bob: My grandfather who I am named after used to put fox feet on my clothing so I could always find seal holes. My mother used to crush a spider in between my fingers so that I would be a fast runner. They used to always use amulets for any kind of stuff. It is probably still done today. 64. Bob: There are a lot of people that have stories in Taloyoak. 65. Bob: One can tell the difference between male and female bears by looking at them and by the tracks. You can also tell if the bears are healthy or lean by the tracks. The heel will dig more into the snow if it is skinny. If it is fat you can’t see the heel bone. 66. Bob: The neck seems longer and skinnier if it is lean. Also the fur doesn’t look right. 67. Bob: A female track is more round. A male track is more elongated. The real full-grown males are easy to tell because of their large size. 68. Bob: When a polar bear is fat it moves like it doesn’t have a bone in its body. When they are skinny they look stiffer and have longer legs. 58.

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Amulet—Anguaq Stages of Bear Development: Tatzaq—Adult female without cub; Anguruaq—full grown male adult; Nukaugaq—younger male— usually have really thick and very white hair; Atciqtaq—when a cub first comes out of the den; Atvarutaq—a cub the next winter after one summer has passed; Nalitquiqsinik—a cub when its teeth are quite even; a polar bear that is very white is mean and dangerous; a polar bear that walks with its head raised all the time is said to be mean; Bob caught a mean bear that was very white.

Bob Konana – January 1 (Interviewed by Darren Keith and Salome Arqviq)

Bob was born just north of Abernethy Bay at Haatuq on the west shore of the Gulf of Boothia in 1938. He has killed between 20 and 25 bears himself. His first bear he killed when Uluraq (George Konana) was a little kid. As he was born in 1958 this must have been about 1961. He sold the skin of his first polar bear for $40 to some white men working at Shepherd Bay. They weren’t traders. His second bear he caught near the Copeland Islands at the mouth of Thom Bay. An RCMP traded a 222 rifle for that skin. This was likely the following year, so around 1962. These two times he just encountered the bears and shot them, but after that he started to go intentionally hunting polar bears. When he hunted the second one he let the dogs loose and then he had to chase the polar bear on foot to catch it. The 3rd polar bear he caught up to with his dogs and sled and simply shot it. 73. Darren: When do the bears go into their dens? 74. Bob: Sometime in the month of December. Not all bears den, just a few. Not every year. But especially the females make a den, if they have cubs then they are in the den. 75. Bob: Some males den too but not every year. Just the pregnant females stay in the den for the whole winter. 76. Bob: The only time they can make a den is when they can find enough snow. They look for this. 77. Bob: Some bears without newborn cubs would be coming out of their dens at this time of year (beginning of February). 72.

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Bob: They have their cubs in the month of December or January. They have one or two cubs. Once in a while, three. 79. Bob: By the month of April the cubs wander around outside. They usually see the cub tracks by the month of April when they go out polar bear hunting. 80. Bob: When I was younger I saw dens in the areas I pointed out. There are hardly any dens anywhere now (in this area). Now I can’t even find the dens I used to see when I was younger. 81. Bob: When I was a child and while I was growing up my parents would go hunting and they knew the exact places where dens would be. 82. Bob: When I became an adult they had new rules for hunting [can’t kill in dens]. 83. Bob: It was already hard to find dens when I started hunting by dog team. 84. Darren: Already harder than with your parents? 85. Bob: Yes. It is harder to find dens than long ago because they would travel by dog teams, but now when there are skidoos and planes... 86. Darren: But when he started hunting with dog team? 87. Bob: There are fewer now than when there were dog teams. 88. Bob: The snow gets deeper and deeper as the winter goes and the bears would dig up and make their dens higher [and have new floors]. 89. Bob: When the polar bears claw marks are gone from the snow they would get help from their dogs or by foxes urine or turds [in finding the dens]. Most times they would find polar bears in their den. 90. Bob: If they used their harpoons to try and find out if there is a polar bear in the snow, the harpoon would get stuck, then they would make a hole above the den and the polar bear would either come up fast or just sit there, and they would shoot it in the head. 91. Bob: Before there were rifles they would use harpoons or a piece of wood [with a snow knife attached] and that is how they would catch polar bears. 92. Bob: When I started remembering I never heard of my father using harpoons to kill bears. I only remember my father using guns. 78.

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—tells story—His father told him a story about his grandfather. His grandfather and another man were out sealing and a female polar bear attacked them because it had two cubs with it. While one man was being attacked the other would stab the bear, and then when the bear turned on the other man, the other would begin to stab the bear. They helped each other like that. They both survived and found the bear dead the next day. His grandfather’s name was Nirlungajuk.

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Bob Konana – Evening January 2 (Interviewed by Darren Keith and Louie Kamookak)

Louie Kamookak went out hunting by dogteam with his grandfather Qukshuun in about 1973 and he saw icebergs then. There were also people with snowmobiles at this time. [Rosie Arnaaluk Kigeaq tells me that she saw her first snowmobile in 1968—it was owned by Gideon Qitsualik] 96. Darren: When do polar bears go into their dens? 97. Bob: Usually around December and maybe even in November as soon as there is enough snow for denning. 98. Bob: The ones that are pregnant are the ones that start denning as soon as there is enough snow. 99. Darren: What are they called? 100. Bob: Arnaluit. 101. Darren: Which bears go into dens? 102. Bob: We used to hunt females with cubs in their dens as soon as the sun starts rising. That is when females with bigger cubs come out. The places where they were denning they didn’t even see any signs of denning. That was in Nalutalik [around Port Parry]. 103. Darren: Do the males ever den? 104. Bob: Any age group or sex of polar bear may den. 105. Bob: It seems like the full-grown males rarely den. The younger males and the females and the females with cubs are the ones that frequently den. They usually start coming out of their dens about this time of the year, as soon as the sun starts coming up a little. 95.

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Bob: I think the ones with newborn cubs start coming out in April. Even when the mother is going out earlier, she goes back into the den. When the cubs are old enough to walk they usually go out onto the ocean. Darren: He has already shown the good denning sites that he knows of... what are the conditions that they are looking for in a good denning site? Bob: It is usually where there is an early snow build up. It is usually the south side of a hill or a little cliff, that is, where they are mostly. It is not just the places that I have shown you, but it could be anywhere where there is enough snow. It is not only the hills where they den all the time, they also den where there is a snow build-up on the banks of creeks. Even on the sea ice where there are icebergs or pressure ridges with snow build-up he has heard stories of people seeing them denning on the south side of icebergs. It is not common that you see them denning on the ocean, they are usually on the land. Where they are going to den there is always sign that they have been eating grasses. Darren: So they dig for it? Bob: There is always a sign of them eating ivviit [grasses] and I don’t know why but I think that it may be to fill up their stomach before going into the den. Bob: I remember one time I went with my dad and we were going to go look for denning spots and we came across a den where the polar bear just recently went out. It was about this time of year when the sun was just starting to rise up [again]. Darren: Have you seen any change in the snow conditions at these favourite denning sites since you started remembering? Bob: I noticed a difference. These days we don’t get much snow for a long time. In the past we always used to get snow earlier, and now we don’t get much snow for a long time. Darren: When do you usually get snow now? Bob: It takes longer now for the ocean to freeze and the snow seems to come later then it used to a long time ago. Bob: It used to seem that when you see small lakes freezing they used to freeze slowly. Even before there was snow, ice would form on the lakes. Now it takes longer for them to start freezing,

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but they freeze suddenly. You start getting snow and then they freeze. Before it would freeze before you would even get snow. Bob: In those days, just to point out the difference. When we used to hunt fish when they were spawning, we used to hunt them with the kakivak in the lakes and the females had all the eggs in their bellies. We used to do that on top of the ice. Nowadays you don’t see that anymore. Now when the lakes are frozen the females have already laid their eggs. Darren: In what season and what dates would they expect the lakes to start freezing? Bob: I don’t really know the Inuktitut name. When the ground is starting to freeze it is called qaqivalliajuq. But before it starts freezing, when we start getting frost every night we call that qaqurnaqtuq. That is a way to tell that winter is coming. Darren: About what date would that happen in the past? Bob: It used to be around early September. It would be towards the end of August when we started getting frost and then in September when the lakes froze. Now the lakes only start freezing in October. Darren: And when did the first snow come? Bob: The snow used to always start in September, [and it would accumulate] Darren: And now? Bob: It is later now, but it is not too much different. Darren: But you were saying it doesn’t accumulate as fast? Konana: It is different now. It doesn’t seem to build up as much. Darren: Do you see a difference in when the snow would be good for iglu building? Konana: I also noticed a difference in the snow for iglu building. In early days it was always the right kind of snow for iglu building. Now it is too hard—it gets harder and sometimes when it is soft it gets too soft [when it gets warm]. It doesn’t seem to be the right snow for iglu building anymore. Darren: When did you first notice the changes? Konana: It is not too long ago and even now it seems like every season it is different. I have noticed the changes each year recently.

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Darren: And have you seen any changes in the pressure ridges that you described before? Bob: They seem to be the same. [discussion about what was a pressure ridge and what is an aijuraq—crack that freezes over] Bob: There are different types of cracks, one is a frozen-over crack whose sides are about even with the frozen over crack—that is called an aijuraq. There is another type of crack we call qaq&uliq, it is kind of built up on the sides—it is higher on each side [this is a frozen over crack too]. Bob: Also another of the types of cracks are called qugluaniq and these are usually almost like a little pressure ridge it is a triangular shaped push-up. And then there is qugluniq—these are big pressure ridges that go quite high. Some of them where there is a big ocean can go over 8 feet high. Before the snow is built up around them they are usually very high. Some years it is different, sometimes they will be very high [and sometimes not]. Bob: If the ice conditions are not too rough you can always notice [aijuraq]. It is usually on the north side of any pressure ridges or islands that you find the cracks [aijuraq]. You usually seen the aijurat around the islands [we are talking about the north end of King William Island and the islands to the northeast] Darren: How far north of the pressure ridges do they go? Bob: Most of them usually finish. Some are a short distance. Even some pressure ridges go down into the ocean and seem to just stop. Bob: I remember there is one crack that went from Cape Felix north and then turned west to Umingmalik. They followed it and they caught 2 bears not far from each other. Louie: Are all these types of cracks where the polar bears usually follow? Bob: When there are cracks—qaq&uliq—these are the ones that polar bears tend to travel by [a crack with a little build up on each side] and small qugluaniit. But when it is very rough and very high pressure ridges, they don’t seem to have too much interest in following the big pressure ridges, just the low ones. Darren: What about the aijurat?

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Bob: They don’t really seem to travel by the aijurat. It is usually the qaq&uliit and the qugluaniit that seem to attract the polar bear. There seem to be more seal holes in the qaq&uliit than in any other form of cracks. The qugluaniit seem to also have more seal holes in them. Darren: What about the aukarniit? Bob: I used to catch polar bears by the aukarniit by [Qikiqtarjuaq]. They seem to attract polar bears. Bob: Nalutalik is the only aukarniq in the area that sometimes doesn’t freeze over at all through the whole winter. Bob: This one right by the shore by qajaqtalik. Right on the shore when there is snow build-up it usually is open right through the winter. It is sometimes open right to the shore [when there is snow on top it may stay open] Bob: I used to travel through this channel [Homboldt Channel] in the 2nd week of May and it used to be okay. Darren: Are there any other areas that have the types of cracks that we are talking about? Bob: Also between all the islands [Qikiqtat] the ice conditions are very dangerous. Bob: I have been to places up there [towards Kinngailak] and there are hardly any pressure ridges. The only thing I noticed was around Hangmaki there was a large open crack [ainiq] over 10 feet wide. Darren: Do bears like open cracks? Bob: The one I saw didn’t have any cracks and I didn’t even see a seal though it was wide open. The cracks don’t attract bears when they are open, only when they are open and the seals have breathing holes in them. Darren: How about the qaq&uliit? It sounds like there are a lot in this area [around north end of King William Island]. Bob: Where it is way out in the ocean I have never seen cracks or pressure ridges, only near the land. It seems like along the shores is where there are more cracks and pressure ridges that is where there are more seals and that is where the bears are. Although there are seals out in the middle there are less than near the shore.

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Darren: So if I asked him to draw where the good areas for seal are could you do that? Bob: [points out some areas that he knows have high concentrations of seals which means that there is good seal habitat including ice forms—all the areas have bearded seals and ringed seals] The polar bears travel around but they spend more time or slow down in those areas [of good seal habitat]. Darren: And could you show me where the low density areas for seals and bears are? Bob: There seems to be less evidence of bears or seals right in the middle of the ocean, they seem to be more near the shore, on the land. It is the whole centre of the ocean [that is low density]. Where there is polar bears there is lots of evidence of them seal hunting. Bob: There are two methods that the polar bears use to hunt seal. The seals are always under the snow when they come out of the hole and they sit in there. The bears know when the seal is in there and they crush the snow down on the den and grab the seal. The other method is that they remove just enough snow to keep the hole covered, then when the seal comes up to the hole they just bite the seal. Those are the 2 methods they use. I have seen where the polar bear has fixed the seal hole like this. Bob: The first term for when the polar bear crushes down on the snow is ingmuriruq [“crushing or breaking through”]. Louie: It is the same word we would use if the polar bear broke through the iglu to get at us. Bob: The other term for waiting at the seal hole for the seal to come up is nikpaktuq. [when they do this they clear off the snow down to the hole or aglu] Bob: When there is a female with grown cubs. They seal hunt in groups. That is what we call mauqhumajuq. It is almost like the way people hunt seal. Bob: They seem to hunt seal more where there are cracks that have frozen over, because they don’t have all the snow build-up of other holes. They seem to hunt there because it is easier for them to catch seals where there is less snow.

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Bob: I heard a story where someone found a dead polar bear. He went to bite the seal and got his head stuck in the hole and he died. Darren: You talked earlier about changes in the timing of the freezing of the lake ice have you seen any changes in the sea ice? Bob: It is the same with the ocean now it stays open for a long time. The change is a great difference but it is different now. It takes longer. The snow and the ocean and the lakes they seem to take longer now—they are later. Darren: What month would we normally expect the sea ice to freeze in the past? Bob: It is almost the same time it used to freeze but it is a little bit later, maybe in October. The lakes used to freeze in the month of September. Darren: Does this area [north of King William Island] open up completely in summer? Bob: I never spend time down there in the summer so I don’t know if there have been any changes. I think that through the whole summer there is always ice down there [broken up]. Bob: Before when I first started going out I noticed that there was icebergs and old ice, but recently you hardly see any icebergs anymore just young ice. Darren: What are the terms for old and young ice? Bob: old ice—hikutuqait; icebergs—piqalujaq; young ice—nutaaq Bob: I just wanted to say that I have noticed that the polar bears mostly travel anti-clockwise in Larsen Sound. I notice a few tracks that go anywhere but generally them seem to go in that direction. Darren: What time of year do they mate? Bob: I think they start mating about April when there starts to be a little bit of warmth. Darren: Are there any specific places where you find evidence of mating? Bob: I used to always hear that when there were more bears, the Cape Felix area and in the adjacent islands the snow would be just packed down from the mating bears. Darren: So do people travel up there [into Larsen Sound] in the summer?

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Bob: People hardly go up anymore. People used to always camp in Port Parry. But I know that the polar bears always come ashore here [at the north end of KWI] Darren: Is there any way of telling the difference between the polar bears in Boothia and McClintock Channel? Bob: The polar bears in McClintock Channel and Boothia are the same polar bears. I know that they migrate through the land in the winter or in the summer over the Boothia Peninsula. Darren: Have you seen that? Bob: I heard stories and heard from people who actually saw them. In the summer they travel across land. Even in the Repulse Bay area people have sighted them moving up north. They never stop. Just last year someone caught a polar bear down there— John Anaidjak [near Shepard Bay]. Paul Iqualaaq caught one down near the old lodge by Itimnaarjuk. Bob: They used to catch polar bears down around Rasmussen Basin. Darren: Do they ever see dens down in that area? Bob: They used to den in the Iviangirnaq area. He heard stories that they used to den there and then someone built an inuksuk there and they didn’t come anymore. The same thing happened over on the small island north of Hiuraarjuaq [Napaqtilik]. Someone put up a marker there and they didn’t den there anymore. Darren: You were telling us about how you used to hunt polar bears in their dens, what is that called? Bob: Apumiujuksiuqtut is the term. Darren: Could you describe how you hunted in the dog team times? Louie: In the dens or on the ice. Darren: On the ice. Bob: When we had dog teams, when we were seal hunting or traveling and we saw a polar bear we would loosen the dogs to bring the polar bear to bay, and the men would run after it. Sometimes when they know they have found a fresh track they would track them down with the dog team.

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Bob: In recent years when people still had dog teams and had lots of dogs they would just run them down with the dogs if it was smooth ice. But if it is rough ice they would just loosen the dogs. Darren: Have you noticed any changes in the winds? Bob: I haven’t noticed that the wind really changed but when the wind picks up it seems to get stronger than we used to get before. Have stronger winds than we used to have before. Bob: I noticed when I was young, when we still used dog teams, we used to use the snow drifts for direction of travel. The snowdrifts that we used to have were quite solid. Those were the ones we used for directions. These days I noticed that there are snowdrifts pointing in any direction. It is hard to tell the direction from the snow. There seems to be strong winds from every direction now. Even though you still see drifts from the north wind you also see snowdrifts from other directions. Bob: I went to travel as a kid to Taloyoak. I was asked once to take a trader from Gjoa Haven to Taloyoak by dog team. I had never gone so I didn’t know the direction, but my father-in-law told me to use the direction of the snowdrifts. And I went straight to Taloyoak without even knowing the way. The snowdrifts from the north used to be very noticeable. Today if I was trying to figure out the direction from the drifts I couldn’t. We used to camp here [pointed on the map] too, and I used to travel back and forth between there and Gjoa Haven by using the snowdrifts. Bob: I used to travel from Gjoa Haven to here and I used to cut the snow drifts a certain way. Darren: What are the age groups of the polar bear. Bob: First when the female has a cub we call them hagliaqtuq [nursing] [check spelling]. This is in December. Then in April when they come out of the den they are atciqtaq. That is when the mother takes them out on to the ocean [and they don’t return to the den]. Bob: When they are one year old we call them advaruqtat. [check spelling], and then after that the next group is nalitqariqhiniq [spelling], when they are still smaller than their mother. That means when their teeth are even now.

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Bob: And when they are the same size as their mother they call them namiariit. Full grown and still with their mother. If it is a male and they get bigger than their mother they call them nuqaugaq. And the females when they have no cubs they call them tattaq. When they have cubs they call them piaralik [spelling]. And then the bull is called anguruaq. Louie: And the nanurluk? Bob: I think there used to be some bigger polar bears because I heard stories of this guys father catching what we call a nanurluk. They are bigger than normal polar bears.

George (and Mary) Kamookak (Interviewed by Darren Keith and Louie Kamookak) George: When I was very young I was where there were not any polar bears. When I started getting older that is when I started to see them. Mary: There used to be piqalujaq in the past. Darren: When did you first start hunting polar bears? George: I started seeing polar bears when Louie was about 1 or 2 years old [so early 60s] I was going with Paul Eleeheetook. If I have questions if would be easier. George: The first time I saw a polar bear was the first time I caught one. Louie: Where? George: Qajaqtalik. George: That was in the early fall when there was still some open water. When we went to meet Adlak the next day we were going to travel and we fed our dogs seal, and we fed them too much. And then we saw 3 polar bears and we could not catch up to them because the dogs were too full. When they finally caught up to Adlak had shot two of them. He saved one for us. When I shot it, it was by the ice edge and it fell in the water and was just floating. Louie: Do you know where the polar bears den? George: I know that there are denning places on the island Hiuraarjuaq. I even caught bears there. I even heard way before my time that it was a place that they used to den. And the people

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that used to live at Ugjulik used to go down into the Hiuraarjuaq area to hunt polar bears in the den. George: Before we started using skidoos there was always dens in these high spots [at the north end of King William Island] where the snow would drift. These were the main areas—Nilalik. I heard of all the rest of the areas, but I know myself about Hiuraarjuaq and [Nilalik]. I used to hear that they also used to den around the icebergs out in the ocean. Louie: Have you ever heard of bears eating grasses before going into the den? George: Yes, there is always lots of sign of them eating, even sea weeds before they go denning. George: I wonder why they stay so fat when they are denning and they have not food in their den. I wonder why they eat seaweed. Louie: I was thinking about that quite a bit last night, and I was thinking that it might keep their stomachs full while they are hibernating.

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George Kamookak Tape #2 (Interviewed by Darren Keith and Louie Kamookak)

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George: They never have food in their dens it is always very clean. There is no sign of food. Darren: You said when they had dog teams they used to have dens George: I used to go down a few times by dog team down to Cape Felix, and there used to be a lot of signs of polar bears hunting seals, because they break the seal holes. But recently since we started going by skidoo there seems to be less polar bears. Darren: When did you start noticing this? George: I started noticing there was less when I started going by skidoo and he heard of less people catching polar bears down in that area. When they used dog teams there used to be people living down in the Tununiq area and Port Parry and they used to always go down and hunt polar bears when the daylight started getting longer. And they used to always catch polar bears. Darren: Why do you think there were fewer?

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George: I think it has a lot to do with the sound of a skidoo. Before, we used to hunt them and we used to catch a lot, before there were tags, and there weren’t really effects. But now we are hunting less but still there seems to be less polar bears, I think because of the sound of the skidoos. Darren: When was the last time you saw icebergs? George: From what I heard and from what I have learned when there is new ice and ice bergs that seems to always attract polar bears, but if there is icebergs and also old ice then it doesn’t seem to attract polar bears because when there is old ice there is less seals and seal holes in the area. When it is new ice and icebergs that seems to attract a lot of seals in the area. Darren: Do you see icebergs anymore? George: The last time I went down there—some time ago now— there were hardly any icebergs anymore. The high ones from the past were gone a long long time. Darren: Could you try to put an approximate time on when they were gone? George: Sometimes I used to notice a few of them go into this channel [check notes] Louie: [tries to ask former question again] George: I think about the time when we first started getting skidoos, I saw a few icebergs but they were not really high [maybe early 70s]. Darren: What other types of areas attract polar bears other than new ice and icebergs? George: When there is new ice and when there is cracks they seem to attract polar bears. The seals usually make their breathing holes in aijuraq [frozen over cracks]. George: Aijuraq are usually level with the ice, but the qaq&uliq have a little ledge and the frozen-over water in the crack is lower and the sides are higher. The qugluniq or pressure ridge are pushed up and are high. Darren: Which ones are good for the polar bear? George: They all seem to attract polar bears. Even the quglungiq seem to attract polar bears even if they are very high they always seem to have a track.

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Darren: You said that you have noticed the disappearance of icebergs since the time of dog teams, have you noticed any other changes? George: I don’t see any changes in all those cracks and pressure ridges, they seem to be the same. Darren: What about in the timing of the freeze-up and the melt? George: I noticed that it takes a lot longer for the ocean to freeze now and it is always longer for it to be safe enough to travel. Darren: So in the past at what time would the ocean freeze and then be safe enough for travel? George: When we used to use dog teams there was even times when the sea ice froze overnight and the next day we used to be traveling on the ice. And it seems that before we used to have more clear days, no clouds mostly clear, and it used to seem like it was safer to travel earlier, as soon as it freezes now you have to wait so many days. But maybe it is because you have to travel by snow machine, because I know that it is safer to travel by dog team on young ice. George: I remember they used to tell us that the trapping season started on November 1, and we used to go out and start putting out our traps and there used to be no dangerous spots on the ocean, everything would be frozen over. George: Now it seems to change; by November 1 there are a lot of open spots in the ocean. [Nilajuq—when it is frozen and there open spots in the young ice they are called nilajuq]. George: When there is a current and it doesn’t freeze over that is called aukarniq, but if it is out in the ocean where there is no current and it still isn’t froze yet that is called nilajuq. George: One time I went from Richardson Point across [to Gjoa Haven] when there were a lot of nilajut and now that I look back on it I think of it as being kind of scary. George: One time we went from Quuqa to Todd Island and we were hunting seal. And then we decided that we were going to go to Richardson Point and it was open water [in the middle of the strait] and so we paddled. The water started freezing and we couldn’t paddle anymore because it was freezing so we spent the night in the boat. When we spent the night there we had one little

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caribou skin and I used it for a blanket and my father-in-law had nothing. The next day early in the morning I started getting up when I could hear the new ice moving. It was starting to get daylight and my father-in-law got out of the boat and the ice was strong enough to hold him already. 257.

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Interview with George and Mary Kamookak (Interviewed by Darren Keith and Louie Kamookak) Darren: Have you seen any changes in the snow? Mary: The island seems to get less snow than the mainland and it takes longer for the ocean to freeze. George: it takes longer for the snow to build up on the island than it does on the mainland. George: It seems to take longer to get snow now than before. George: If I was to go polar bear hunting today I would go towards Hiuraarjuaq where they used to always den, that is one way to know if there are bears in that area, to see if there are signs of dens. A long time ago people used to go to any areas to hunt before there were tags, they would say ‘I was too late, the polar bears had left their dens.’ Louie: [Asks if physical changes to the landscape at Hiuraarjuaq could explain a lack of dens and he recounts Bob Konana’s story about the inuksuit built on Iviangirnaq and the resulting lack of dens]. George: [explains that it was a smaller island [Napaqtilik] and not Hiuraarjuaq where there was a beacon raised—Louie was mistaken]. George: There used to be a lot of tracks where it would always open and close and there was young ice inside. It used to attract polar bears when the ice opens and then freezes. This area always got very rough [talking over map about the area between Hiuraarjuaq and Victoria Island]. The ice always got very rough and very high in that area. George: The ice hardly shifts, hardly any movement in this area [in the middle of the area north of King William Island].

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George: There used to always be polar bears in the Ugjulik area. The people who were hunting seal down there used to always see polar bears. Today it is different, you hardly hear of people seeing, sighting or seeing tracks in that area. Darren: Do you know of any aukarniit in this area [North end of King William Island]? George: It takes a long time to freeze in this area [Alexander Strait]; takes longer to freeze. There are a lot of seals and bearded seals. It is really foggy from the water in the winter. Darren: Is it fair to say that most of the time you spend in the Hiuraarjuaq area and not in the [north end of King William Island]. George: I spent alot of time around the north end of King William Island. I have been down to the Kingailak area once. [Got close to Kingailak] George: I used to go to Hiuraarjuaq and there were 4 dens there. I broke down and had to walk to Gladman point with one dog. Mary: My father used to catch polar bears on the [south-east] tip of Hiuraarjuaq in the dens. He walked down with just his harpoon and pana but he couldn’t kill it. He was walking where there were denning areas and the polar bear just stuck his head up. He was looking with the harpoon to see it was there—they had no gun. George: Another time I was walking around where polar bears were denning and I noticed that there was a polar bear half way out of its den. Mary: We used to go polar bear hunting about 4 times when I was young. We used to go as a family and the first time when I was about 7 years old. We used to go by dogteam only then and we used to go out with my uncle David Aglukkaq. We used to go down towards Hiuraarjuaq and that little island with the marker [Napaqtilik] and it used to be really rough ice when we used to travel over there. There was a lot of old ice. The new ice was where it was really rough, but the old ice was where it was smooth. When we saw a polar bear we would let the dogs loose and they would chase the polar bear and the men would follow on foot. So me and my mother were left all alone on a smooth little part of the ocean along with 2 dogs. While the men were chasing

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the polar bear the 2 dogs started smelling something so my mother went to check and there was another different polar bear. She went to go see herself and she saw that it was an anguruaq. My mom was trying to shoot it but it kept going behind the ice, and the dogs went to go chase it and my mom followed so I was thinking about going to hide under the qamutik. My mom took a shot but she missed. My uncle caught it. [He couldn’t take the liver out] because he couldn’t turn it over. By the time we got back to it the meat was all spoiled because he didn’t take the liver out. One time when I was a little bit older we went by dog team way up north [towards Kingailaq]. There seemed to be a lot of polar bear and it seemed to be a lot smoother than around Hiuraarjuaq. There was a lot of sign of polar bear seal catches around Hiuraarjuaq. There were a lot of seals. When my dad and uncle tried to catch seal they caught them right away. That was before there was tags. Louie: She was born in 1939 so this would be in the 1940s. Mary: Before there was tags they would just hunt polar bear. Some seasons my father would catch maybe 5 polar bears. Darren: What would you use it for? Mary: We used to mostly use the skins for sleeping platforms and some people would get a piece of polar bear for putting water on the qamutik runners. And they would use it for a tarp and sometimes as a sled because they are easy to pull on the snow. Mary: When they were going back to the camps in Ugjulik. It is a tradition that if they are seen coming back from a polar bear hunt the people would run towards them and the first person that reached them would get a certain part of the polar bear meat such as hind quarters, and the second person that reached them would get a front quarter. Mary: That was their tradition. They would share the meat of a polar bear catch. Mary: My father also caught 2 polar bears in Hiuraarjuaq and they both had no cubs. My father seemed to only go towards the area of Hiuraarjuaq [for polar bears]. Some other piqlujat (icebergs) were really good for drinking water. And sometimes when there was less rough ice there seemed to be more icebergs. Sometimes

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when it is old ice, that is when they are really big (expansive) and you can travel on them for a long time. There was one time I remember that it was really rough ice compared to other years, there was hardly any smooth parts. When it is really rough it is very hard to see far. Mary: Some other times we used to go down this way (Hombolt Channel) and there used to always be polar bears in this channel in the early fall. There was one time when we were on the land and there was an iceberg close to the shore. My father went to meet the polar bear. He was thinking of going over the top of the iceberg but he went around it instead and he met the polar bear face to face. The polar bear just turned around and ran. His gun was in the qamutik (sled). He got his gun and shot it but it got away. Mary: There was another time when we were on this island (Qikiqtarjuaq) and my father shot this polar bear that went in the water. He was waiting for it to come up but it never did. It just stayed there. Mary: Before there were polar bear tags that’s when they would always see polar bears. Darren: When did the tags start? George and Mary: Don’t know what year. George: In the 1960s. The polar bear tags and the social assistance came at the same time. Early 60s. Mary: Ice bergs used to go as far south as Mount Madison. We used to always start traveling in the first week of November. The traveling season had started. Now it is hardly frozen in November. It used to always freeze before November [talking about the sea ice]. We used to go trapping as soon as the season opened on November 1st. I remember not too long ago and when people were still active trapping, it didn’t freeze early and we were saying maybe someday we will be going trapping by boat. It was a big thing. When the trapping season opened everyone would get out there on the land. It seems to take longer for the sea ice to freeze and even for the snow to come now. George: The lakes used to freeze early and I used to always hunt fish by kakivak (leister) through ice holes, but now you don’t see

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them anymore. It is too late [the lakes freeze too late] and the eggs are all gone. It used to freeze before it snowed, and people used to make qarmat (winter huts) out of snow. We notice now that it takes longer for it to freeze and for it to get snow. No more icebergs. Nattilik Months (George and Mary Kamookak) Nigliuqtuq—when it starts to get cold in summer. Ukiaksaliqtuq—when it starts to get cold like fall. a. when it is starting to snow that is when they call it ukiaksaliqtuq. When it is starting to freeze. Right now this time of the year is the coldest time of the year. We go by moons. This moon is Ijinahuqtuqtuq—it is the coldest. Ukiakqaaq—when it used to freeze, when the lakes first freeze that is when we used to say ukiakqaaq. It is when the ice is still thin. That is when you are fishing. When the ice is thin. The snow would start building up at this time. We used to always pack the snow with our feet when the snow is too soft and then cut it horizontally instead of vertically (Makpatak). October Regular blocks are called auvik. When there is enough snow it is auviksaq. But when not enough they would pack it and then cut makpatak. We had a method of hunting seal where we were riding on the dog team and we would see a hole and one hunter would jump off without stopping so as not to let the seal know that someone stopped. Ukiaq—when you could travel on the ice. November--polar bears den. Ukiuq—January and February I’raniqtuq (Nattilingmiut)—March [Atuqhauruliqtuq (Illuilirmiutut)] bulls anguruaq [adult males] are looking for mates? Upinngaqhaliqtuq—April cubs are starting to get out of their dens. Upinngaqtuq Aujaqtuq Darren: When would polar bear hunting start? A -- It used to be anytime they saw one. The bears with cubs used to den in Ukiaq. They used to always be denned when trapping started (Nov. 1).

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Ukiaqaaq—that is when the lakes freeze over, and the ocean really freezes over in Ukiaq. Darren: Is that the sign that Ukiaq is here when the ocean freezes over? Louie: Yes, that is when the trapping season used to open too. Darren: So from what we have heard would you say that Ukiaq started in part of October. Darren: When—in what Qablunaqtut calendar month—did the sea ice come in, in the dog team times? Mary: It used to be in October, some time in October because by November 1, when trapping started, the sea ice was safe. All the places with currents were open, but most parts were frozen. Mary: It seems like sometime in November, early November it starts freezing. Darren: Would you say that Ukiaqaaq is shifting? Mary: It seems like Ukiaqaaq is in November now when it used to be in October. It used to freeze earlier even when Rabbie was born, on September 20, 1964. When she was born the lakes were already frozen. There was also a very big snowstorm right around that time. And the people that used to live there (on the mainland) used to cross to the island before November 1. Now it has changed. Darren: Do you remember when you first noticed that it started freezing later? Mary: When we used to live on the mainland, when I was younger, and then we finally spent the summer around here (Gjoa Haven) it was like the ice was just starting to go (melt and disappear) and the fall was already there. It was like there was no summer. It used to always seem like longer summers when we were on the mainland, then when we were up here. Right now on King William Island it is a lot different, it is a lot hotter and the summers are a lot longer. And even insects, a long time ago when we used to camp at Kaleet River way up inland there used to be insects that you could only see when you were way up there. And then when we had a camp in Simpson Strait on the island, through the years there was a few that we saw, and now there are lots of these insects that you used to only see way up inland. So it is really

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warm now, and the insects that never used to be here are now here. You can tell with the insects that never used to be around, and there are lots of mosquitoes and there never used to be a lot [on the island]. Mary: There used to be stories and even in our time there were times when the ice in Simpson Strait wouldn’t have gone and it would freeze again. In the early 70s. And there are stories from way back when that happened a lot too. People who were staying in Richardson Point went home only after it froze because they couldn’t get to Gjoa Haven over the whole summer. There is even stories of some years where the ice never went, and even the snow. When the birds nested you could see them because they were black little dots on the islands. Darren: That was in her time? Mary: No way before my time. I have never heard of a time when it never froze, but maybe soon that will happen [joking]. Mary: The method the polar bear uses for hunting seal by breaking the snow before it goes to the hole. We come across a lot of seal holes that are broken. The polar bears hunt seals through the breathing hole and when it comes up they bite it. They just listen for the seal to come up. In the spring time when the seals are on the ice, when there are water streams going into the seal hole they go into those streams and catch the seal. Darren: What is this called? Louie: Auktuq. Mary Kamookak: There are legend stories that the polar bear came from the people, that they were once people. That is a legend that has been passed down. George: There is also a belief that if you think there is something strange about a polar bear then you don’t eat the meat. Mary: And if you are feeling ill you were never told to eat polar bear meat. They always say that if you are sick and you eat them then you get worse. Darren: Why? Mary: Because they believe that they came from the human. The first polar bear was a human that turned into a polar bear. That is where we believe that they came from. We hardly eat them when

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they are raw, but we eat them when they are frozen. I remember when we didn’t have enough food left we used to eat them frozen. And their fat gives off a lot more heat then the seal and brighter light [when burned in qulliq (soapstone lamp)]. They give a lot more heat and they burn brighter than the seal fat. Darren: Have you heard of Nanurluk? Mary: Only from legends, I have heard about Nanurluk. George: I have never seen one but that is the term we use for bears that are bigger than the polar bears. I have heard of one guy named Huk&ak who caught a polar bear in Gulf of Boothia, He shot the bear and it fell in the water. They hitched up their dogs and tried to pull it out but it was too heavy so he skinned it like that and just took half of the skin. Darren: Was there anything around the actual hunt that one had to do special? Mary: When my father caught a polar bear he would remove the liver right away because it is dangerous to leave it in long. One time my uncle caught one that was so heavy that he couldn’t roll it so he could not remove the liver. When he returned to the bear and opened it up the meat was ruined. It was all purple. If you are not going to skin a polar bear even for a short period you have to skin a polar bear. George: The liver is never eaten. It is not even given to the dogs because it is dangerous. George: You have to take the liver off even if you are going to go back to the bear in a short time. It is even so for any big animals. Even bearded seal—you have to take the guts out right away so as not to spoil the meat. George: I hear towards the west people eat the intestines of the bear. Darren: People around here used to practice that ritual of giving the seal fresh water, is there any other ritual like that around polar bears? George: I never noticed. Mary: There is only a belief or a saying that if you are eating polar bear meat you don’t chew it, you have to use a knife.

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George: We believe that if you are bitten by a polar bear they will start chewing you if you always chew on their meat. Louie: You can eat fish and caribou without a knife, but they were told not to do that with polar bear. Darren: Do you still do that? Mary: There is another saying that when you first eat a polar bear you are told not to say that it tastes really good when you are eating it. Polar bears are very smart, they have different behaviours for different people. For some people they would be afraid and they would not try to attack, but for others they would try to attack. George: There was also a saying—even if you want to see a polar bear you were not to say ‘I wish I could see a polar bear’ or ‘I wish I could kill a polar bear this way or that way,’ because the polar bear will probably end up killing you before you get a chance to kill them. Darren: Do they hear? George: They always say they are very smart and they know. Mary: And you cannot boast—say this is what I should do with a polar bear, this is how I will stab him or how I will shoot him. We were always told not to talk like that. When my father used to go hunting—and though he was a lot shorter than my uncle—the polar bears would try to go for my uncle and totally ignore the other person. One time a bear broke into my father’s iglu while he was out trapping with my uncle and the bear tore up my uncle’s kamiks [David Aglukkaq] and totally ignored my father’s things. So they know even whose things they are. It is different behaviour for different people. Like when I told you earlier when my dad ran face to face with a polar bear the bear ran away. If that had been my uncle the polar bear would have been attacking. They always say that polar bears are very smart and they know. Some are more aggressive than others. George: There is another saying too about bearded seal: for strong people they put up a big fight, but for a weaker person they are a lot weaker.

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Darren: Is there any significance socially when someone first gets a polar bear? George: For sure there would be because they are big animals. There is all kinds of traditions for other things. Mary: I have probably heard of this but I always forget. Louie: Do you want to talk about amulets? Mary: I never really used to have amulets but I remember more than once that they would break a housefly on the back of my head. It was for good luck, if I was sick or in danger or cursed it was for good luck that I would always survive. George: I think it works because sometimes I feel that I would never have made it because sometimes I have got lost or fell through the ice. I almost had lots of big accidents. Mary: Because my grandmother was the only child she wanted me to have a lot of kids, so she sewed on a fox penis on my pants with instructions that she was not to take it off but that it would fall off on its own. She was very embarrassed by it. Louie: Which way did you used to see polar bears travel [tells his father about Konana’s observances]. George: [The same—counterclockwise] Mary: Before the tags only Gjoa Haven people used to go hunt down there. Cambridge Bay people and Taloyoak people hardly went down there. I think that that is one of the reasons [for the decline], with polar bear management they give all these tags to go hunting in one area. That is what I think. The government came and put the quota and said you go there. But before there were polar bear tags it was the area of the people of Gjoa Haven. George: The polar bears are not territorial. Some years there are lots of polar bears some years there are hardly any. Just like other animals some years there are lots of foxes and some years there are hardly any. Mary: Even the lemmings, ptarmigans, owls, any animals. [In notes: Mary Kamookak said that the Napaqtilik has lots of seals and bears back when she was a child.] Mary: Story of Arnarunnaaq—A Polar bear went into her iglu and Arnarunnaaq the lady was feeding it seal fat to keep it from attacking. Her husband was trying to fill it with fat.

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George: The entrance to the iglu is very small and low in that area of King William Island. There is a story of a guy cursed by a shaman. A polar bear made a hole in the ceiling of his iglu and pulled him out of the hole in the iglu. He put his blanket to block the hole where the polar bear was coming in but the polar bear just bit him and pulled him out. Very dangerous.

Gideon Qitsualik (Interviewed by Darren Keith, Louie Kamookak and Jackie Ameralik) Gideon: Last year there were no polar bears but right now the polar bears have moved to the Gulf of Boothia and maybe the other way towards Victoria Island, but these polar bears are going to be back. Gideon: Some months there could be no polar bears and another month there will be lots of polar bears in the same spot. Gideon: I just want to make it straight that the same polar bears that go to Greenland and Resolute Bay and Holman Island they are the same polar bears. Sometimes they tend to stay in one area for a while and they move on some years. Gideon: I used to live towards Baffin, and some years there were no polar bears and some years there were lots of polar bears, because it is the same polar bears traveling towards Greenland and back. Gideon: The polar bears used to travel from towards Greenland, they travel by the shores and they hardly go in the middle of the ocean. It used to seem that they travel with the old ice. Sometimes the old ice comes down, and when the old ice goes away it seems to take the polar bear away. And the ones that want to den they used to den, even the males or females, if they are healthy, if they have enough fat to stay in the den. Even when they used to hunt the denning spots. Every year we would go to kill the polar bears that den at that spot. The next year we would return and there would be another polar bear denning at that same spot. Gideon: Sometimes in the denning areas where there is enough snow there would always be more than one polar bear. There

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would be three, with a mother and two cubs in one den and other bears around if there was enough snow. Gideon: Where I used to live up here (around Ikpiarjuk) where there is a lot of mountains there would always be more snow where it was more rocky with higher valleys. Sometimes there would be more than one polar bear denning in the same area. They are not in one den but in the same area. In those days we used to catch quite a number of polar bears when we went hunting in the denning areas. Every polar bear in that spot denning, we would kill them. Since we started having quotas, I was very upset last year when there was an American guy telling us there were no more polar bears. When they started managing them with quotas, I know there was a lot of polar bears, because before those quotas we used to catch a lot of polar bears. They always say that the population has declined but it has not declined; they are just moving. The arctic is very big and the polar bears—they move to different areas. They have a lot to do with old ice. The old ice in the summer that is where the polar bear lives. If the ice is completely gone the polar bear goes with the old ice. Myself I don’t have any concern about global warming, but I know that if the old ice goes the polar bear goes. I hear about people talking about global warming but I don’t think that it has too much effect because when it gets cold it gets very cold yet. Gideon: I noticed the polar bears up here migrate from different areas to different areas. But the ones down in Churchill I know they keep going back to the same spot. If I was to be told that the polar bears are declining in all different areas, like Greenland and around Holman Island then I would believe it. Because if I was told that the bears were declining in all other areas of the arctic... We used to only survive on polar bear meat and in some years there was less and in some years there was lots—enough for the whole winter. Where we used to live at that time there was no caribou so we had a lot of uses for polar bear—for covering the iglu, clothing, bedding. For everything, they were the only skins. The smaller polar bears were used for clothing because they were alot smaller. In those days when people caught a polar bear, or any animal they would catch anything they could catch. There was

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no law against hunting. And even the dogs, they used to eat meat everyday, and they used a lot of meat. Today there is hardly any dogs eating any meat. I know that there are still polar bears, and the polar bears are not finished. There are lots of polar bears. That is why we get upset when they say the polar bears are declining. Gideon: I never hunted in the denning areas in King William Island but I know where some are. [He has heard of only the place around Nilalik—I put his initials there] I think that there are still polar bears denning there today. Gideon: The male ones usually go out earlier in the winter. But the one’s with cubs usually stay until spring. The males seem to go out in February or March—earlier. We used to come across some polar bears that just came out of denning—male ones—not the ones that just had cubs. They den anywhere. If there is enough snow they can den. In the winter the polar bears are traveling by pressure ridges or cracks, but in the summer they stick with the ice. I noticed in the past there used to be a lot of old ice even up to here. One guy left his snow machine [north of KWI] and the following year (season) it was still in the same spot. Darren: When was that? Gideon: Just recently there seems to be no more old ice. I heard from some old hunters that went out that last year or the last couple years was the first time there was only new ice. And that is when they started saying that there was hardly any more bears. Gideon: And then last spring when the 4 tags were given to us. The 4 that went out seemed to have been reporting a lot of polar bears. And recently there have been reports that the old ice is back here—the ice hardly went this past summer. If there is more old ice now, there should be more polar bears. Even a long time ago when we used to hunt polar bears they used to say that there used to be less polar bears when there was more young ice. Darren: Why? Gideon: That is their home—old ice. They don’t live on the land, they live on the ice—that is their home. That is the reason why

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they stick with the old ice. They rarely hunt on the land, they hunt in the ocean. Louie: Some people ssay that when there is young ice there is more polar bears Gideon: That is in the winter. In the winter, if there is old ice they don’t stay on the old ice, they stay on the young ice where they can hunt some seals. But in the summer their territory is old ice. They stay on the ice and where the ice goes they go. Gideon: In the winter they don’t usually travel, they mostly try to stick around where there is good hunting, where there is young ice or open water. But towards the spring that is when they start traveling—traveling around. So in the spring when they start mating that is when they really start traveling around looking for a mate. Darren: When is that? Gideon: Towards the end of March and April. Gideon: It is always the smaller polar bears that start walking, and then later on the big males start moving. It is like with caribou, first the cows start moving and then later on the bulls. It is the same thing with polar bears. And the big ones tend to stay more out towards the open ice, and the younger ones tend to stay more towards the land. It is the same thing with char. Darren: Is there a reason why the big ones would like to be out further? Gideon: They don’t tend to care too much about the land. They are just being home out on the ocean, and they don’t seem to think to much towards the land. Darren: Is it possible to tell the difference between a male and a female just by looking at them? Gideon: You can tell easily. Even just by tracks. Even if it is just a small little male, you can tell if it is a male or female. Darren: How can you tell? Gideon: You can tell the bigger bulls by the size, but if it is a female it is more round, and if it is a male it is a lot longer if it is a smaller bear. Darren: Is there any way to tell by looking at the body?

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Gideon: You can tell if it is a female by the movement. They seem to move a lot quicker and the male ones seem to move a lot slower. Darren: When you are looking for a polar bear are there other signs you are looking for other than tracks. Gideon: It is mostly by tracks that we hunt. Not being a shaman it is mainly by the tracks. There seems to be different methods. Some bears seem to only try to catch the seal simply by crushing the seal den (at the breathing hole). But there are other bears that seem to be very skillful and they hunt seals at the breathing hole and they make the ice very thin [over the hole] and they just attack and bite the seal as it comes up through the breathing hole. Polar bears seem to have a lot of accidents too when they are trying to hunt and it died because it couldn’t get out of it after trying to attack a seal. They seemed to be killed by other animals too, I have seen one that was killed by a walrus. There [are] a lot of ways that they could die, but there are still polar bears out there. Darren: Are there ways that they hunt seals when they come out on the ice? Gideon: They sneak up to the seal. They can hunt just the same way as humans, it is just that they don’t have a harpoon, they have teeth. They are very wise. Darren: Louie’s parents were saying that they are very wise and they even know what people are talking about. Gideon: I was also told that you cannot boast about them. Any animals. I don’t really want to believe it, but I think it is true. That is what they used to say. I noticed that even though there seems to be no polar bears at all you could look back and see one standing where you just left. Even if there seems to be nothing at all they just do that. I think that they can hear when you talk about them. I think that could be true. I noticed quite a number of times that I was traveling and there was a polar bear where there was nothing. Even one time I looked back and there was a polar bear right by the sled when I looked back towards it. And the dogs started moving towards it. They can be very surprising. Even in

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the spring, as soon as we heard there were hardly any polar bears people keep sighting polar bear tracks. Darren: What should a person know if they are attacked by a polar bear? Gideon: I know. I used to hunt polar bears. When we were growing up we were always told to carry a pana (snow knife) and we were taught to always carry a weapon. These days that is not taught to the younger people. I know what to do if I am attacked, it is just that no one has ever asked. I was told that if you are not going to carry a gun you must always carry a pana or a harpoon, if you are walking anywhere. Because that is when the polar bears would show up. Any big game would have the same style of attack. If I was carrying anything in my hand I would use that to hit the polar bear in the face. Even as a human if you were hit in the face you would try to turn away. If you were in an iglu and the polar bear goes in… if there is anything handy you just cover the head and then you can attack it with a knife or a pana. I have witnessed people being attacked by a polar bear. Even if there are dogs around a polar bear would attack a human even if there are some dogs. If it is attacking, if the head is twisting you go towards the jaw side because they will never attack that way. If you have a snow knife or a knife, if it is attacking and reaching you—move towards the jaw side. If you move towards the other side he can still see you. If you move towards the jaw side you can poke it in the neck area. I was told, when there were shamans, we were told not to talk about our skills when being attacked. I myself know that if I was attacked and if I was holding something I would just keep hitting it in the face and it wouldn’t attack. I myself have been attacked a number of times, but I hit them in the face and they didn’t attack. I have never stabbed them with a pana but I have speared them with a harpoon. When you are used to handling a polar bear it is almost like handling a dog that is mean. They are really protective of their face and their head. If you hit them a number of times they won’t want to get close. If you are using your bare hands then there is no chance you will scare the polar bear, but if you have a bat or a piece of stick in

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your hand then you can hit him in the face to keep him from attacking. Darren: That was interesting when you talked about not speaking about your skills when shaman were around. Gideon: We were always told not to show or talk about our skills because some shaman were mean and they wouldn’t want anyone smarter than themselves. If they knew that someone had a skill, then they would try and curse them or set them up so they would die. They were jealous of people who had talents. For that reason they were told not to talk about their skills. There were a lot of mean shamans and there were some nice shamans too. Some of them went to the moon and back. Darren: Have you seen any change over the years in the health of the polar bears. Gideon: Just like foxes, some years they are healthy and some years they are lean. I think they get lean when they get overpopulated. When there is a lot of polar bears, sometimes when even the one that catches a seal won’t get to eat. The bigger ones will steal the food from the smaller ones. Polar bears eat right until they are full. They can eat until they can’t put their head down without puking. Polar bears eat right to the max. If they eat until they are right full they try to keep their head up. If they put their head down some of the food comes out. They even don’t want to stand up anymore. Gideon: When I was growing up that was all we ate and we would eat them raw [polar bears]. Darren: When you didn’t eat them raw how would you eat them? Gideon: We cooked them. The meat is good but the best part is the intestines. We used to only boil meat. The only time we could eat the polar bear was when it was fat. The lean ones were the food for the dogs. Louie: Did you use the fat for fuel for the qulliq (soapstone lamp). Gideon: That was the main purpose. For fuel. That was the only things we used for fuel. Darren: Was all that polar bear hunting you were talking about in Ikpiarjuk?

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Gideon: [close to Ikpiarjuk] There was not always lots of polar bears. There were always polar bears but we were hunting them all the time. I know that right now there are a lot of polar bears. Darren: Are you saying that you killed a lot more than after the tags? Gideon: Yes. Every polar bear we could see, we would catch. Even 10 was not a lot. The same with muskox. Darren: Were people taking them in those kinds of numbers for generations. Gideon: Yes it was passed down through the generation. If they had a chance to catch any animals they did. Nowadays you hear that there are more polar bears in some areas than others. There is always a lot of meat for the polar bear. There are always lots of seals. Darren: Some people told us that they have noticed a difference in the snow? Gideon: I noticed a difference too. Before we used to always make iglu and it was easy to cut and now it seems like it is impossible to cut a snow block in some areas. I noticed that it is like that around King William Island, it seems like in this area it hardly snows and once it snows it blows away. In some other areas it snows and stays. I went for a walk a few days ago and I noticed that the snowdrifts were very very hard and the only way to take them off would be to chop them. I noticed the change too. There seems to be a lot less snow and very hard snow. Like right now I would consider it hardly any snow. Darren: Do you think these conditions could have an impact on denning polar bears? Gideon: I know that it would have an impact in that where they used to den they would no longer den. They would go and look for more snow. Polar bears tend to know where the snow would build up and that is where they will make their den. If they know that there wouldn’t be enough snow, then they wouldn’t bother to make a den. If they couldn’t find the right snow there they wouldn’t den there. I used to notice when the polar bears were trying to den just by the tracks. After seeing where the polar bear was trying to den—trying to look for the right snow—in later days

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we would return and find its den. We used to notice. The first snow is called pukaq. If the polar bear had footprints in that early first snow then that footprint would never go, it would be there all through the winter. I don’t know if we get that kind of snow anymore. Darren: You don’t know? Gideon: I haven’t been going anywhere but I kind of noticed that it is hard to see. The first snow is soft snow and then there used to be a little glaze over it—a little ice—and then the bottom would be soft. Maybe it is still that way. I hardly go out but I seem to see less of it. This year there is hardly any snow. I have heard from other communities there is hardly any snow. Darren: Is pukaq important for iglu building Gideon: It is powdery and has no value for iglu building. If it is kind of pukaq and kind of thick and a little bit old snow then it is the right kind of snow for the iglu. It is kind of a mixture of pukaq and snow. You can find out with a harpoon. Darren: If the snowpack is harder than it used to be, is it possible that this could interfere with the crush-through hunting at the seal hole? Gideon: I don’t think that right now it is a problem because there is not much snow and I noticed that when they attack they scratch the snow and then push down. They cut the snow with their claws. They are very powerful. They don’t have to really jump, they use their claws to break the snow. Louie: [asks about age groupings]: Atciqtalariit—when they are seen as a group—as a family; piaraq—when they are with their mother; nukau—when they have left their mother; namiariit—when they are the same size as the mother. When they are together with their mother that is when they call them piariit. Darren: Could you describe the method of hunting when you used to hunt in the dens? Gideon: We used to go to where there was a snow buildup and sometimes we would notice where the polar bear has been digging to make a den. If there is no sign of digging then we would use a dog to sniff out to see it there was a polar bear denning. We would check with the harpoon to see if there is a polar bear

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denning in there. I was always told that I should use a whip. When you see that a polar bear has been digging and denning then you should use a whip to make a sound. Then the bear may stand up. Just for safety. If you go there and the snow is really thin then some people fall through trying to use the harpoon method. If it is thick they won’t come up but if it is thin they may come through. Once you find out that the snow is thick then you cut a block of snow that is thin enough just for the head to come out and then you kill it. You don’t make a big hole just a small one. You would crack your whip and if the ceiling of the den is thin then it would come out. If not it would not. It is just a safety measure when hunting this way. I have never seen anyone fall through, but I have heard of it. I have heard that if you fall through they never attack in their den.

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Jackie Ameralik (Interviewed by Darren Keith in English) Jackie says he was born at I&uqiuluaq Lake in 1960. Darren: Before you moved into Gjoa Haven, was your family living in that area? Jackie: No we were living in Taloyoak. I moved to Gjoa Haven in 1981. Darren: Did you hunt polar bears before that? Jackie: No, I did some guiding but I didn’t really hunt polar bear. Darren: When did you start guiding? Jackie: I started a long time ago with my Dad. He used to do some polar bear guiding from Taloyoak. I used to go out with him as a kid. Darren: How old do you think you were? Jackie: I was about 10 or 11 years old when I started going out with him guiding. Darren: So around 1970? Jackie: Yes. Darren: And where would you take people? On the [Gulf of] Boothia side or on this side? Jackie: On the [Gulf of] Boothia side. Darren: When was the first time you started hunting in this area?

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Jackie: I think it was 1981 when I moved here. Darren: And you went guiding right away? Jackie: Yes. Darren: And was it a successful hunt? Jackie: Yes I think they were all successful except for once about 6 years ago. Darren: Was there a lot of polar bears or polar bear signs around? Jackie: There was a lot of polar bears around but not the right kind. We were seeing mostly females with cubs and young males. Darren: How do you tell the difference between the male and female. Jackie: Well first of all the size of the shoulder. The females are usually slender and a little shorter at the shoulder than the males regardless of the age of the male. The paw prints. Usually the female the paws are more inwards, more bow-legged. The males are more straightforward than females. And the paw prints have fur around the paw that shows on the snow. The female footprints tend to have less fur (marks) around the prints. Darren: That is quite a bit you can tell by the prints. Jackie: When you see them together it is hard to tell when you see them. But when you see the footprints you can tell the difference by the footprints. Darren: There is no question when you see the footprints? Jackie: Yes. Usually the males tend to show more claw prints on the snow than the females. Oh and another thing on the prints, the female is usually longer than the males. And the males are usually rounder. Darren: Longer on the males or females? Jackie: Females. The males are usually rounder. Darren: Is there anything else that you can tell from the prints? Jackie: No, not really. Darren: When you were up there [north of King William Island] did you see any dens? Jackie: No, I don’t really look for dens when I am guiding. I am not really a polar bear hunter. I don’t really look for dens around anywhere. I just look for footprints and the size of them. Around

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the area in King William Island I have not seen dens or looked for dens. But I have heard where the dens usually are. Darren: And where are they? Jackie: They are around the tip [end of King William Island] and the Clarence Islands. I have not actually come across a den here but I have heard they are around here. Darren: What was the year that you didn’t get a bear? Jackie: About 6 or 7 years ago. I think it was 1997. Darren: Because you need to get what—a mature male? Jackie: Most of the sports hunters want mature males. They want big, trophy animals. We weren’t able to come across any big males. Darren: You are supposed to shoot males right? But they can be any size? Jackie: Yes but this guy was pretty picky. Darren: So in 1981 your hunter got the bear? Jackie: No, in 1981 we moved to Gjoa Haven; about a year later I guided sports hunters and caught a polar bear. It was a mature male. Darren: What is the name of them in Inuktitut? Jackie: Anguruaq. Darren: Every year that you guided, did you end up getting an anguruaq? Jackie: No not every year, sometimes younger males. Darren: Since you started going up in that area in 1982 and the last time you went 2 years ago: have you noticed any changes in the number of big bears or the health of the bears or any changes? Jackie: The big change was that there was a lot less mature males around, and there were a lot of younger males and females around. It was hard to find any mature males. It was even hard to find mature male tracks 2 or 3 years ago. Darren: Was that the first year that you noticed that it was like that, or when did you first notice? Jackie: No, it is different every year. The animals always travel and it is different every year. So I can’t say which year has more and which has less. The only thing I can really say is that the

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males went down in numbers. I think they went down in numbers because they were hard to find. Darren: When did they get harder to find? Was it just that year or...? Jackie: No, no, no, every year they get harder to find, but 2 years ago that was one of the hardest times I had finding a mature male. Darren: Did any of the guides find a mature male that year? Jackie: Yes I believe they did. There were some sports hunters that caught a polar bear in the north part of the island and it was a pretty big bear. Darren: One of them. Jackie: Yes, one big bear. Darren: Do you have a favourite area that you go? Jackie: No, from my past experience, but the timing is more important. Usually in early spring they are more in the open ice than closer to the coastline. But the area I like is this area here. Darren: Off of Franklin point. So you have had some success there? Jackie: Yes, I have had some success there. Darren: So what kind of conditions are the polar bears looking for when they are looking for good places to eat? Jackie: I think they are looking for rough ice. Where the areas are usually rough where they can find seal holes, and pressure ridges. Especially this time of year right now, along the coastline, along the shore where there is usually more cracks. Darren: What are cracks in Inuktitut? Jackie: Ajuraq. Darren: And I have heard that there are different types of cracks. Jackie: Atuarut. Cracks that go parallel with the shoreline. Darren: How do they differ from the Ajuraq? Jackie: Ajurat usually go out into the open water. And there are pressure ridges that we call Quglungniq. Darren: Do you find them around that area? Jackie: Yes. Especially from that island there [Napaqtilik] and goes around Franklin Point. Darren: Do the bears follow it?

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Jackie: Yeah. You can find bear tracks around pressure ridges. Darren: And Qaq&uliq? Jackie: There are a lot of different types of cracks but I don’t know the names for all of them. I am an Inuk but I don’t know them all. Darren: Of all the different types of tracks, do they favor one of them? Jackie: They tend to go for pressure ridges, because most of the time they are usually open during the winter time, and they can find more seals in those pressure ridges. Darren: Do you ever go sealing up there? Jackie: I have never gone sealing up there. Darren: Since you started going up there, and considering what you have heard about the area in the past, have you seen any changes in the ice conditions? Jackie: The ice condition since I started going up there. There is a lot less rough ice. It is a lot smoother now. When I first started going up there was a lot more old ice from the Arctic Ocean, but now there is a lot less of that old ice. Darren: Do you see any connection between there being less old ice and less polar bear? Jackie: I think so; when there used to be more old ice there were more polar bears. When the rough [old] ice was gone there were less polar bears around. You can see some pieces around, but not a whole lot as 20 years ago. Darren: That is one thing that I have heard—that the really big Piqalujat have not been seen in a while. Jackie: Yes, we have not seen those big icebergs for a while. Darren: Have you seen aukarniqs? Jackie: No I try to avoid those areas where I have been told that there are aukarniit. Darren: Generally towards Kingailaq? Jackie: Yes, I have heard there is a lot of current around this area [Franklin Strait] and here [McClintock Channel]. I was told by my grandparents to avoid aukarniit. Darren: Have you seen any changes in the snow? Jackie: In the past 3 years; now there is a lot less snow. In the past three years. Before that there used to be a lot of snow so

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that you could make an iglu on the ice. But now some parts of the ice don’t even have snow at all. And the quality of the snow I don’t think really changed. Darren: Is it as easy to make an iglu from it? Jackie: I don’t think it has really changed... the quality of the snow. I never really noticed any changes in the quality of the snow but the amount of snow definitely has changed. Darren: What about the weather... the winds? Jackie: I think it is a lot colder now then in the past few years ago. Darren: What about—since you started to see the polar bears in this area, are they as fast and healthy as they ever were? Jackie: All the polar bears I caught while I was guiding were all fat and healthy. I have never really seen any unhealthy ones. Off tape: All animals travel and polar bears travel even more The freshwater and sea ice is late freezing up and early break up.

Paul Eleeheetook (Interviewed by Darren Keith and Jackie Ameralik) Paul was born close to Repulse Bay area. Doesn’t know when he was born but now he has old age pension. Doesn’t keep track of his age. Eleeheetook: I moved to Gjoa Haven in 1958. After I moved to Gjoa Haven I started going out polar bear hunting with local people. That is how I learned to hunt polar bear. Where I was born was inland and they didn’t have any polar bears so it was after I moved to Gjoa Haven that I started hunting them. We moved to Back River when I was a child. Darren: What year did you move here? Paul: I moved to Gjoa Haven in the spring of 1958. Darren: When you first started hunting polar bears, was that by dog team? Paul: The first time I ever hunted polar bears was by dog team. When we follow a polar bear track by dog team a human being alone can’t catch up to a polar bear. To catch up to the polar bear we let the dogs loose. From what I heard from other people, the way to hunt the polar bear is to chase it by dog team first. If you

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can see the polar bear and if you get to the rough ice, then you let the dogs loose and follow the dogs on foot. That is what I heard from other people about how to hunt the polar bear. It used to be fun hunting polar bear by dog team. You let the dogs loose and you don’t see them for a while. When they are over rough ice and a ridge and you can’t see where the dog team is, yeah that used to be fun. I have hunted polar bear by myself [alone] only twice by dog team. Paul: The part that I didn’t like was after I caught up to the polar bear, I would follow it for a while, and then I would let the dogs loose, the hard part was going back to the sleds. Retrieving the sleds. Sometimes that would be a long walk. Darren: What types of areas would you go to hunt polar bear? Paul: Where is Hiuraarjuaq [on the map]. When I started hunting polar bears I used to go to this area here, where there is a reef [ikadlruq] there is no land. That is where I used to catch polar bears. [This reef was drawn on the map to the NE of Napaqtilik] Darren: What is good about this area. Good ice conditions? Paul: In the early spring there is usually a crack from this island [Napaqtilik] here to that little reef around there [referred to above]. There used to be a crack (aijuraq) when it was rough ice around that area I used to travel inside that crack when it was frozen. There are a lot of seals in that area. When the crack first opens there is usually a lot of seals, and when it freezes up there are a lot of seal holes and you can see polar bears in that area. Paul: When I don’t see polar bears in that area I would travel down to this area [Cape Felix] and there is usually pressure ridges from this point and they are usually going NW and NE from there. I usually catch polar bears close to the land and not farther out from the land. Farther out into the sea there is usually hardly any tracks of polar bears. It is usually on the coast of the land where you see more polar bears. There are usually less cracks in the ice down there. The cracks usually come from islands and from the land and the cracks are usually thinner [out in the middle]. The way I think about them is that the bears hunt like people, they try to find easy areas to hunt. Like the people try to find easier way to hunt. It is easier to hunt from the land because the cracks are

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usually thinner, and there are usually more animals around. Seals are their main food, usually seals look for an easy place to get a breathing hole. Paul: I used to go around that area to [Gateshead Island or Umingmalik] , but I have never seen one around that area. I have seen tracks. I used to go around that area by dog team with the help of snowmobiles. I used to catch polar bears in the Kingailuk area. Darren: Did you ever hunt polar bears in their dens? Paul: I have never caught polar bears in the den. I have seen dens, but I have never actually caught a polar bear in the den. Darren: Where [did you see dens]? Paul: [he points out areas at North end of King William island pointed out by others.] These are already written down. I recognize these places as places where dens usually are, but I have never actually caught a polar bear in the den. Only after they are out of the den, I have never actually seen them in their dens. There used to be lots of snow around this island, but I have never seen a polar bear in the den. I have seen dens at Kingiktuarjuk island. Usually dens in that island there. I used to see dens but after the bears have gone. Darren: Have you seen any changes since you started going up there, in the number of dens around? Paul: Yes, I have seen big changes. Right now there are no mature males, big males. I have not gone polar bear hunting for 3 or 4 years now. One of the reasons I stopped hunting polar bear is that the price of the hide, after the price of the fur went down, I didn’t go hunting anymore. And the price of gas went up too. Darren: Any other changes that you have seen in the polar bear population? Paul: The other thing I noticed is when the bears are gone in this area [East side of King William Island] they usually travel to the Northeast. I noticed that they go one way. I don’t know where they go. Darren: When you were up here [Gateshead Island] did you notice which way they were moving?

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Paul: They usually go towards that Prince of Wales Island. The foot prints are going one way towards that island [*didn’t spend much time there]. I have never actually gone where the tracks lead, I have been mostly hunting on the ice, not on the land. Most of the tracks I have seen are going up Northeast. This is what I have seen in the past. I don’t really see polar bear trails going down southward, instead I see them going northeast. I think they usually hang around, but in the early spring they tend to move northward. It is hard to find a polar bear around this area. That is the way I think about it. Darren: Since you started going up into that area have you seen any changes in the ice condition? Paul: When I first came around here there used to be a lot of icebergs, but now the ice conditions are smooth [new ice]. When I first started going down north of King William Island there used to be icebergs, and there used to be a lot of polar bears around them, but now you hardly see any icebergs around anymore, and it is like there is hardly any more polar bears. When there was icebergs, you would see tracks going up the icebergs to look around, I don’t know. In the past, four or five years ago was the last time I was down there on the sea ice, and I have never seen icebergs like I used to, even along the shore you could see icebergs, but now there are no icebergs around. They make good ice water. It is like they didn’t come from the sea, it is like fresh water. Darren: Around what year did you notice that there wasn’t anymore [icebergs]? Paul: I am not too sure, but it was after I started going by snowmobile that there was hardly any. When I was hunting by snowmobile the amount of icebergs was decreasing and a few years later you don’t see anymore icebergs. After that I never went out polar bear hunting, but for the past 4 or 5 years now I have never heard from the guides about icebergs out on the sea ice. Darren: Do you see any connection between there being no icebergs, and there being less polar bears?

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Paul: I think that there is a connection between the bears and icebergs. Around icebergs it is a lot easier to break ice than elsewhere. The water is usually running around an iceberg, and it keeps the ice thinner around the iceberg. [good for seals] The way I think about it is that because around icebergs the ice is thinner, and after they are gone the polar bears moved somewhere else where there is icebergs. When it freezes all together, the ice, it gets a lot harder, when there is no wind blowing or anything to break up the ice when it is freezing up. When it is calm when it is freezing up, it gets harder much faster. That is one of my theories for why the bears are gone. I really can’t think of anything else to say about polar bears or polar bear huntings. Paul: I was trying to caribou hunt on Gladman Point and I was looking for caribou tracks on a hill. And beside a rock there was a place where a bear was laying down. I forgot all about it and kept going looking for caribou, and about an hour or two hours later I saw in the distance something white. Saw a polar bear. It was a young male. The hunting season was not open and there were no more polar bear tags at that time last year. Darren: What is a young male? Paul: Nukaugaq. Paul: Maybe he had just come from a den because he was yellow. The polar bears that come from the dens are usually more yellow in color. He was very healthy and fat. Darren: Generally have you noticed any difference in the health of the bears over the years? Paul: I have never seen any changes, and all the bears that I have caught have been healthy and fat. I have never caught a skinny polar bear. I have never seen an unhealthy animal—polar bear, caribou or seals. Darren: You mentioned about the change in the icebergs. Is the sea ice going in as early as it used to? Paul: I think that it freezes up earlier now, because there is no more icebergs. If the water stays open longer there would probably be more icebergs. Because the lee of the iceberg usually takes longer to freeze up. I think that it is because of less

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icebergs that there are less polar bears around. But I am pretty optimistic that the bears will be back around this area. Darren: One more question. Have you seen any difference over the years in the amount of snowfall you are getting, or the quality of the snow, the hardness? Paul: There is more snow now. There is a lot more snow now over the years. When I first came, when I traveled by land there was hardly any snow... in the past few years now there is a lot more snow now and there is a lot less storms. When I was younger there were a lot more storms and stronger winds. Right now there is hardly any snowstorms. Although there is snow storms, but not like when I was young. The snow gets harder too. The snow gets packed right away, because there is hardly any snowstorms as in the old days. This fall when I went out looking for caribou I was trying to make an iglu, but I couldn’t because the snow was too hard. In the old days around December I remember that the snow used to be easier to cut into blocks, but nowadays it is much harder. That is the way I see it. Different people have different opinions. I am saying what I think. What I have learned in the past, and what I have seen in the past to this day.

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Mathew Tiriganiaq (Interviewed by Darren Keith and Jackie Ameralik)

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Darren: I wanted to start with some background on where you were born and when? Mathew: January 30, 1947 in Amurat. Darren: When did you start getting involved in polar bear hunting? Mathew: 1960. Around 1960 I started getting involved in hunting polar bear. Darren: That was by dog team? Mathew: Yes, by dog team. Darren: Were you living in Gjoa Haven at that time? Mathew: I was a young guy when I moved to this community. This is where I grew up. After I was an adult I started hunting polar bear.

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Mathew: When the bear hides used to have higher prices I used to go hunting polar bears. Almost every year. I love polar bear hunting. Darren: When you first started hunting polar bears how did you hunt them? Mathew: I traveled by dog team and we would track down polar bears and let our dogs loose and then catch up to them. At this time we had rifles, so we used rifles to kill them. Darren: Did you ever hunt them in the den? Mathew: I have never hunted polar bears in the den because at that time we were told not to hunt bears with cubs, and most bears in dens have cubs. I was told that I couldn’t do it. Darren: Did you come to know where the denning areas were? Could you show us? Mathew: I know these two areas here [2 areas recorded on map near Cape Felix], and I have seen one in the den at that island Kinguktuarjuk [marked on map]. And I have seen a den down in those islands there—Hiuraarjuaq. [identifies dens on the south side of Hiuraarjuaq–on the map] Darren: Do they ever den further south in the Ugjulik area [Storis Passage]? Mathew: No I have never heard of dens there. Darren: When do the bears go into their dens and which ones do? Mathew: I don’t know when they go into their dens. Darren: What about when they come out? Mathew: The one I saw was in April and it was an adult male bear. But I don’t know about the females with cubs. I don’t know when they come out of their dens. Darren: In all those years since you started going down there, have you noticed any changes in the bear population? Mathew: When I started going out hunting polar bears there were plenty of polar bears. At that time there were no snowmobiles. I noticed that after there were snowmobiles the bear population went down. The other thing is that when I started going down hunting polar bears, over the years I have seen helicopters flying around where we go polar bear hunting. And they leave baits on the ice for the bears. I think that that is one of the reasons that

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the bear population went down. One of the reasons is the helicopters going down and baiting bears. Some kind of yellow grease. It is like a seal oil. Mathew: From what I have heard [from Inuit tradition] the animals are gone for a number of years but they will be back. I know that the bears will be back in this area from what I have been told by my Elders and other people. I know that the bears will be back someday. Even for some other animals, in some years there are hardly any fish, and in some other years they come back and there are more fish. When I was a kid there was a lot of muskox around. When I was growing up I thought that I would never see a muskox, but now there are a lot of muskox around. All animals are like that. They will be gone for a number of years, but then they will be back again. Darren: Can you remember about what year that the helicopters were around? Mathew: 1975/76 I saw helicopters flying. The other things I saw were plastic bags filled with snow. Around the baits. Darren: Earlier you were saying that there used to be a lot of polar bears and now there are none. About what year did you notice the change? Mathew: It was around 1990 that I noticed the decreasing population of polar bears. Darren: They are decreasing, but are they as healthy as they used to be? Mathew: When I started noticing the decrease I had never seen an unhealthy polar bear. The only time I saw was when I went with another guy and he caught a really skinny polar bear. That was around the early 1980s. Darren: Have you seen any changes, since you started going up there, in the ice conditions? Mathew: When I started going out in the 1960s I saw a lot of icebergs, but recently a few years back when I took my son out polar bear hunting I didn’t see any icebergs at all. Darren: Can you remember approximately what year? Mathew: 1995 to 1997. Somewhere in there. Darren: What is the significance of that to you?

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Mathew: The icebergs help a lot in bringing in the polar bears. Sometimes the polar bears stay on the icebergs even in the summer time. That is one way to catch a polar bear on the icebergs. Right now there are no icebergs and that is probably one reason for the decrease in the polar bear population. It is not right for me that there are hardly any polar bears around. Mathew: I noticed a change in the weather too. Now the winds are a lot warmer compared to way back then. Usually you have a lot of Northwest winds, but now most of the wind comes from the northeast. Icebergs come from the northwest, so when the wind blows from the northeast they would blow away from King William Island. Darren: Have you seen any changes in the time that the ice freezes up? Mathew: In the spring time the ice goes away a lot faster now, and it takes a lot longer to freeze up now. It takes longer to freeze now in the fall. When I was young the ice used to go away in August. Today the ice goes away in mid-July and even in the first week of July. Jackie: I remember that in 1989 the ice went away on July 1. Mathew: In the old days it used to take a long time for the ice to go away. Darren: And when in the old days would the ice freeze over? Mathew: Sometimes it froze in September, maybe midSeptember, but now sometimes it it goes [freezes] in October. Darren: What about the snow, do you see any changes? Mathew: I don’t really know about the snow conditions or the amount of snow in the past years, but I know that from being told from other people that the more snow you have the more water you will get the next spring. When I was younger, there used to be a lot of snow around riverbanks, but now some of the rivers don’t exist anymore. Darren: Have you been down to Amurat in the summer lately. Mathew: Yes. Darren: Have you noticed any difference in the Ajakatkut or the Kuunguap Paanga [Hayes River mouth] area?

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Mathew: I have seen a lot of changes in that area of Ajutkatkut. Some of the bank is gone around Kuunnuaq. In some years the deep part of the river channel shifts from one place to another. From Igluvigaqturvik to Ajakatkut used to be close, but now it is farther. I remember from when I was small that Ajakatkut used to be really high, but now it seems to be really small. The area of Ajatkatkut is definitely changing from erosion. Darren: Arnaaluk was telling me about the changes this morning. Mathew: I left it when I was a child and maybe because I was a child everything seems so big. But since moving here I have been back and I know the difference. It is understandable that since it is mud and sand around Utkuhiksalik, there was part of a qaiqtuq that disappeared. Around that area you can see the bottom of the water but you can’t see that rock there anymore. Even after my kids grew up I went back down to Utkuhiksalik and I could see the changes around the land area. Darren: When you were up in this area hunting polar bears [pointing to Larsen Sound] was there any direction that they seemed to be moving or was it just any direction? Mathew: Around this area I noticed that they move northward [pointing to the shore of the Boothia Penninsula to the northeast of King William Island]. Darren: Have you ever noticed evidence of bears moving back and forth across the Boothia Penninsula? Mathew: I don’t know if they go across, but when I am in this area [pointing to the west coast of Boothia] I notice [the tracks of] bears going on the ice from the land. Darren: Have you heard of the area Hangmaki? Mathew: I have been to that area about four times after we had snowmobiles. I have seen tracks but never any bears. When I was going to go down there I had heard that there were a lot of bears in that area and I thought that I was going to see bears at night. Darren: What is like in that area, in terms of cracks...? Mathew: There used to be a crack from Hangmaki towards Kingailuk. But I don’t know if it changes direction or finishes or... Darren: So are these reefs important for polar bears?

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Mathew: The reefs tend to have less polar bears than icebergs and shorelines. Around icebergs and around the shorelines it would be a lot easier to find a polar bear than around the reefs. Darren: If you have to tell me on the map where the most productive areas are for polar bears, where would that be? Mathew: Only if you are going to let me go polar bear hunting will I tell you. I can’t say for sure because animals travel a lot. There are going to be more in one place and then the next year they will be somewhere else. Darren: Are there any areas that you found that are more rich in seals? Mathew: I am not a seal hunter so I can’t tell you. Darren: Have you ever watched polar bears hunting seals? Mathew:I have never seen a polar bear sneaking up to a seal, but I have seen one waiting at the hole and going around to the other holes. I have seen a bear hunting seal at the breathing hole. Seal holes are usually covered with a thin layer of ice and then covered with snow. That snow was dug down to the hole and then covered with soft snow [by the polar bear]. There was four of us that saw the polar bear waiting at the seal hole. Peter Apiana, myself, Ben Qiqut [and another, inaudible]. Darren: What is the term for that ? Mathew: Mauqhuktuq—waiting at the seal hole. Jackie: Auktuq is sneaking up to the seal while it is pulled out on the ice. Darren: How do you tell the difference between a male and female polar bear? Mathew: I know the difference if I am watching but I can’t put into words how you tell the difference between female and male. Darren: Since I don’t know much about polar bears there may be something that I am forgetting to ask? Is there anything else that you want to share with us? Mathew: When they stopped sports hunters from coming, and quotas went down in Gjoa Haven. I feel that it is not right; well, the majority of the people in Gjoa Haven don’t like the idea of a decrease in the quota. The majority of people know that the bears will be back in this area again.

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Darren: And how do you see that population replenishing itself? Mathew: I know that animals move around a lot. Bears move around a lot. They will come from other places. There are some residential bears around, but I know that they will reproduce. I know that they will be back one way or another. Mathew: The elders they know a lot. They have a lot of hunting skills with different animals. Sometimes they don’t say ‘I can do this very well.’ We don’t talk about how we are very very smart and we can do this to these animals, because animals can do something to you. The Elders know a lot about a lot of things, but they don’t talk about what they know. They may say something, just a short version, but they won’t talk about the whole thing. Darren: Do the animals know what is going on? Mathew: I have heard that the animals know. Mathew: I want to ask you a question. Is there any difference between the young polar bear, or female or male polar bear? Darren: I only know what I have heard since I got here. The young ones have the thicker fur, and the really young ones are softer. And the sub-adults are whiter. That is just what I have heard around here. Mathew: The old people have a lot of knowledge about the polar bear. Some of them even know how to tell the age.

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Jimmy Kikut (Interviewed by Darren Keith and Jackie Ameralik)

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Jimmy: I was born at Kamikluk and I don’t know what year. I have an ID (identity) card but, I think it is the wrong date of birth, because people younger than me have older identification. Younger people than me are getting old age pension now. Jackie: So he is over 65. Jimmy: I have been trying to tell the government about my age but they won’t believe me because I look so young [joking]. Darren: So would you be an Illuilirmiutaq? Jimmy: Yes. Darren: When did you start hunting polar bears?

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Jimmy: When I was young I wouldn’t go very often, but I would go once in a while with the hunters to go polar bear hunting. Darren: Where would you go? Jimmy: Towards Hiuraarjuaq and Nugluktarvik. After I moved to Gjoa Haven, I used to go up in this area [west side of Boothia and the northwest side of King William Island]. Darren: When you were young and they used to hunt over, here how would you hunt? Would you hunt them in their dens? Jimmy: It was after they banned hunting polar bears that are in the den. But I remember that we used to hunt polar bears before they banned hunting in the den. [He never did it himself]. Darren: Do you remember when you moved into Gjoa Haven? Jimmy: We moved after we had two kids. When they had to start school that was when we had to move to Gjoa Haven. Jackie: That would be David and Susie, and David is over 40. So that is around 1965. Darren: And after you got to Gjoa Haven you used to go out hunting polar bear yourself? Jimmy: I would go with someone to hunt polar bear. Jimmy: When I was a kid I used to go seal hunting around this area a lot [Ugjulik] and I know that they used to hunt polar bears around this area. And I used to see people catching polar bears only with harpoons, not with the rifle. Darren: What was the name of that area? Jimmy: Putulik [Hat Island]—I remember that we used to seal around there and hunt polar bear at the same time. I have heard that someone caught a polar bear in the den before, at Hat Island. Darren: What denning areas do you know about? Jimmy: And this area here too there used to be a lot of dens here too in the time before we started hunting with rifles [south side of Hiuraarjuaq]. I have heard of some areas [on the north end of King William Island] but I have never seen them. I hunted polar bears on the sea ice around Cape Bernard. I have never actually been on the land around this area [north end of King William Island]. It was only after I was an adult that I started going up there [to the Cape Bernard area]

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Jimmy: About four years ago was the last time I was up here [area of Anderson Head]. There was a lot of tracks but we didn’t see any polar bears. There is a reef around here somewhere [Hangmaki] and I reached there. At that time we were following a polar bear track of a bear that just caught a seal, there was a lot of tracks around that area and we followed the wrong track. That was around April or maybe the end of March. Darren: Did you see the tracks of any Anguruaq? Jimmy: We saw quite a few adult male polar bear tracks, some were old tracks but some were newer tracks. Darren: Between 4 years ago and when you first started coming up into this area, have you seen any difference in the bear population? Jimmy: Some years there are hardly any polar bears and some years there are more. It is different every time I go hunting and the amount of polar bear tracks are different each year. In some cases they would be in one place all together and in other years they would be spread out all over. Where there are plenty of seals, polar bears go there. I have heard of it in the past from other people and I think it is the same way that polar bears travel a lot from one place to another. It is different every year. It is not the same. Darren: Do you see any pattern to their movement? Do they seem to migrate in any particular direction? Jimmy: They usually move northward. When I was hunting in this area most of the tracks go northward. While in the Hiuraarjuaq area they go westward. On the north side of King William Island they tend to go northward. Darren: Have you ever hunted on the other side of Boothia? Jimmy: I have never been in that area. I have never been beyond Taloyoak. Darren: In the time that you have been in this area, has the health of the bears changed? Jimmy: I have seen lots of bears and I have never seen an unhealthy bear.

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Darren: In all those years that you have been going up into this area [north of King William IslandI] have you seen any changes in the sea ice? Jimmy: In some years sometimes it is smooth and in some years it is rough. Sometimes there is a lot of icebergs and old ice in that area. Since I started going up sometimes there will be old ice and icebergs, and sometimes it will be smooth [new ice]. Darren: Have you seen any changes in the snow? Jimmy: Recently I think that there is less snow coming in late. When I started remembering in the old days the snow would come earlier. But recently, now it takes longer for the snow to come in. Darren: Could you approximate the year when you first noticed this? Jimmy: It was about in the mid-1940s, late-40s, early 50s. Around the end of November and early December we would have iglus built by then. But now even at this time of year you can’t build an iglu from lack of snow. Jackie: Even right now on the ice down here, there is hardly any snow and you can’t make an iglu. Jimmy: Right now when I go down to check on my dogs, I always think that there is not enough snow to build an iglu down here. Darren: Can you remember when you first noticed it getting like that? Jimmy: I wasn’t too aware of keeping track of when the change started but I started thinking of it two years ago and last year – the lack of snow. Darren: When you went out 4 years ago [polar bear hunting] was there already less snow? Jimmy: There was quite a bit of snow because at that time of year [April] there is a lot of snow by then. Around the rough ice there was quite a bit of snow. Darren: What about the hardness of the snow? Has it changed? Jimmy: In some cases, in some years the snow will be soft depending on whether you have a snow storm or not. If we had a snow storm it would tend to be harder, but each year it is different. In one year the snow conditions can be different.

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Jimmy: The Inuit always look for good snow to build an iglu which is hard enough to erect and soft enough to cut. Most cases, most years the snow is pretty much the same for building iglus. The condition of the snow on the ice and on the land are different. In checking the snow you can tell a difference with a rod. The old snow is on the bottom and new snow on the top. The better snow is always on the bottom. That is how I learned to build an iglu. Learning from other people and hearing things from other people. Darren: How do you tell the difference between a male and a female bear? Jimmy: If I see a polar bear by itself from a distance I would not be able to tell, but close up you can tell. But the female with a cub, if the cub is a male, you wouldn’t know the difference by looking at them. From a distance a lone bear—I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. I can tell the difference between male and female by the track. Darren: How are they different? Jimmy: The females tend to have smaller footprints than males even if they are the same size. You can tell the difference from tracks on the snow even if they are the same size bears. Darren: What does Anguhalluq mean? Jackie: Male. It is just a term for male. Even for me and you. Darren: What are the terms for the different age groups? Jimmy: Tattaq—is a female without cubs. Pingahukqat—a female with 2 cubs with all animals being about the same size. I forgot some of the terms for some smaller cubs. Namiariit—is the same as pingahukqat. Advarutalik—I am not sure which one that is. Nukaugaq—adolesent males. There are some more terms but I can’t remember. I have not heard them for a long time. Darren: I have here piariatuq. Nalitqarihiniq Jimmy: I am not too sure what it means, but I think they are young cubs whose teeth have started growing and are leveled-out in their mouth. I have heard of them, but I have never actually talked to anyone about what they really mean. Darren: And Atciqtaq Jimmy: Some of these terms I have just heard of and I forgot what they mean.

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Darren: Would you be able to point out what areas are more favourable for polar bears than others? Jimmy: I am not too sure, but from past experience I have seen more tracks around this area when the days are getting longer. That is what I think. When I started going up there [to Hangmaki] I started seeing more tracks. [Also pointed to Hiuraarjuaq and the area to the northwest of the island.] Jackie: What about the cracks? Jimmy: Around where there are polar bears there are usually pressure ridges. Polar bears will follow pressure ridges or cracks, where they can get easier access to seals. From my past experience the bears don’t really tend to stay in rougher areas. They tend to go to thinner ice to get easier access to seal holes. [new ice] I know that if you come across a polar bear in a rough area, they will tend to go more into the rougher ice to get away from you. But they stay on the smooth ice if not threatened. Jimmy: The pressure ridges, some can be really high, but some can be very small. The same with the qaq&uliit. Some can be very wide and some can be very narrow. Darren: How do you tell the difference between aijuraq and qaq&uliq? [Jackie asks: Are they the same?] Jimmy: They are not the same. Qaq&uliq are usually higher than the aijuraq where aijurat are more level to the water [in the crack]. Qaq&uliit have raised up edges. Darren: And what about qugluarniq? Jimmy: They are the ones that are pressure ridges but they are very low. They are pushed up [on one point]. They are very low. Some can be very low. Darren: They are not long? Jimmy: Some are long and some are short. Some can be really long. Some can be short. Qugluaniit usually happen in the early fall. Darren: And they stay through [the winter]? Jimmy: Yes they don’t change through the year. Darren: Are there any other kinds of cracks that we haven’t talked about that the polar bears like?

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Jimmy: The other thing is in early fall. After freeze up sometimes there is open water in some areas and the seals get together there to breathe. These are called Nigaijuq. Jimmy: Aukarniq—where there is strong current that keeps them from freezing. Where there are narrow channels that is where you find aukarniit. In the open water sometimes it takes a while to freeze up, so you won’t see any aukarniit around there, just in these smaller channels [points to Humbolt Channel, Wellington Channel, and Ross Strait].

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David Aglukkaq (Interviewed by Darren Keith, Louie Kamookak and Jackie Ameralik) David: When I used to go polar bear hunting I used to go to these islands here [Nugluktarvik and Hiuraarjuaq]. And we used to go to Kingailak. We got close to Kingailak but we didn’t reach the island by dog team. We used to travel through really rough ice. Quukshut used to travel through really rough ice. Sometimes the lead dog would disappear behind the rough ice. We used to catch a few polar bears when we used to go before there were any tags. Ever since there were tags I have hardly seen a polar bear. I hardly go out. David: It is easy to tell what kind of bear it is by the track. The adults and the younger polar bear have different size tracks. When you are in a place where there are lots of polar bear tracks, it is really hard to get a good sleep. You get up really early. I used to always see polar bears when we used to go by dog team, but since skidoos it seems to get harder. We used to catch quite a few polar bears, because there were bears and they always used to go towards where the polar bears were. Louie: Do you know the difference between female and male by the tracks? David: I know when they are adults or young bear and I also know if they are male. The footprints are a lot longer and narrower than the females whose tracks are a lot rounder. That is all I know about the tracks, I don’t know every detail by the tracks, but it is easy for me to tell if it is an adult or a small bear. I noticed that

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745. 746.

747. 748.

the male tracks land more on the heels and the females do not land too much on the heels. That is all I know about tracks. If you have any questions? Darren: When you used to hunt with only dogs did you ever hunt in the dens? David: Yes we used to hunt them in the den before there were tags. We used to catch any polar bear even if they were young. We would catch them in the den. Darren: Can you tell us about how you used to do that? David: If we found that a bear has been digging into the snow, then we take a harpoon and try and find out if there is a bear in the den. When the days are getting longer, some of the bears in the den start taking the snow off the top of the den to make the den roof thinner. Even the ones with cubs when they start digging more up that is when we call them Qadvaqtituq ‘they are going more up.’ They are getting ready to go out. There was one time when we were going back from Igluligaarjuk, we had an iglu there, and we were going there and I brought some seal. We never saw the polar bears but the next day when we travelled to that iglu, the polar bears came from it and we caught them all. When we caught the polar bears we went to the iglus to unload, and I went to pick up the polar bears. When we got back to the iglu we saw that my kamiks that I had left there were missing. The polar bear had taken them out of their bag and ripped them up. Qukshuut’s kamiks were not even touched. David: When we were hunting polar bears, when we were getting close to them; when I was ahead the polar bears keep looking back and noticing me. But when Qukshuut was with me and he was ahead the polar bears didn’t seem to notice that there was anyone chasing them. So whenever we were getting close to a polar bear I was always told to go behind. Louie: Were there any traditions when you got a polar bear? David: I never noticed anything. Even when I caught polar bears I didn’t notice anything unusual happening. Louie: Do you know where the traditional denning places are? David: Hiuraarjuaq on the south side [at a place already marked]. Not only right in that spot but also towards the shore I have seen

749. 750.

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Qukshuut catching a polar bear there. He caught one in that denning spot and then another one down by the shore on Hiuraarjuaq. Louie: Any other denning areas? David: I don’t really know but I also heard that there used to be dens in Matty Island. It is almost every island where the used to den. They would den anywhere. Darren: Why do you think that the polar bear only wanted your kamiks? David: I think the polar bear wants me. When I was a kid my father said if I ever see a polar bear the polar bear is going to look at you. I used to always hear my father talking like that. Maybe he was thinking that polar bears would always try to attack me. The parents were different in those days. Some parents would try any way to protect their child by anything. Anguat (amulet) or anything. The would hope that their son would have good luck. Louie: Did you ever have an Anguaq? David: I remember having an amulet on my arm, but I don’t remember what it was. It was very old and black [laughing]. I can’t remember any other amulet. It had a little caribou skin pouch and I didn’t know what it was, but every time I got a new parka it would be sewn on and one day it was gone. Nobody ever told me what it was. Louie: [asks about the age group names] David: If they are just born they are called atciqtaqtaq. Then they start calling them atciqtaq. When they are about a year old they are called advarutaq. Most times they have two cubs. When they are a little bit bigger, a little bit bigger than a husky, about the height of the mother’s belly; that is when we call them nalitqaihiniq. When they are about the mother’s size or just a little bit smaller they were called namiaq. When they are almost the same size as a bull [anguruaq] when they are males, they call them nukaugaq. Louie: Do you know a legend of how polar bears originated? David: I don’t know. Louie: My parents were told not to eat polar bear meat without cutting it.

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David: I was also told not to eat without cutting. My mother used to tell me not to eat the polar bear without cutting it. Darren: Did she say why? David: I don’t remember asking why. Darren: Over the years have you seen any changes in the polar bears? David: I don’t know. Louie: Have you seen any changes in the sea ice? David: There used to be a lot of old ice when we used to go down there. It was always kind of smooth but it was old ice. There used to be some young ice but there used to be hardly any. It was mostly old ice and piqalujaq. Where there was pressure ridges where it is shallow, there used to be young ice around them. At that time the ice used to freeze up right away and today it doesn’t. It takes very long to freeze. Darren: What time of year did it used to freeze? David: It was around October that it used to freeze around this area. And before the eggs left the fish, it used to freeze, but now there are no eggs in the fish when it freezes. Louie: It used to freeze before the fish spawn. We are talking about lakes. Louie: Was there more snow before than now? David: It seems to take longer for the snow to accumulate. Louie: I asked him about the snow, if there is any difference now. He said that he hardly deals with the snow. David: I noticed before it used to freeze early. The fall used to come earlier but today it takes longer. Darren: When do the bears go into their dens? David: When there is enough snow they start denning. When they have enough snow. Towards December they always start denning. Especially the ones that are going to have cubs. Darren: What kind of ice conditions would you expect to find polar bears? David: The bears seem to be away right now. There seems to be less bears. My last polar bear I caught was in Richardson Point. Darren: When was that? David: Not too long ago.

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Louie: Maybe in the 80s if I remember. Darren: Have you ever hunted polar bears over in the Gulf of Boothia? David: The furthest I used to go was at Ujarahugjulik and I caught one polar bear there and I caught another one towards Taloyoak. I have never been to Boothia. Darren: Do you see any pattern in the movements of the polar bears? Do they seem to migrate a certain direction? David: When I used to hunt in Hiuraarjuaq they seemed to go southwest. There are polar bears that seem to go back and forth. Louie: What did you use the skins for? David: Used to use them for the sleeping platforms. Louie: That was before they started selling them. Louie: We heard that you should not boast about hunting bears. David: I also heard that you should not say that ‘I am not afraid of them’ or ‘I hope to see them,’ I was told not to say that. David’s wife—that is true of all the bigger animals. David: It is a tradition for most animals. You don’t really talk about them. Darren: Is there a term for that? David: There is probably a word for it but I don’t know. I was always told not to pijatruq [boast]. David’s wife: Pinahungaaq [hoping]. David: The denning areas are called apuhiriaq [the denning place]. A den is called apumiuvik. The ones without cubs, the adult ones, usually go out as soon as the sun starts rising. Louie: [tells him that he heard that the bears eat grasses before going in to den] David: It is true [that they eat grass or seaweed]. Louie: Why? David: The ones in the den don’t have any food but they are very healthy and fat. And their stomachs usually have nothing inside. Louie: Have you heard stories about Nanurluk? David: I have never really heard but I think that they are the ones that stay way out in the ocean. I think they mostly live in the ocean. In the water. I have heard legends that the Nanurluit always have a hole in the ice because the live in the water. When

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this certain guy, when he found an aglu. He put water over the Nanurluk’s iglu. This guy actually caught the Nanurluk through its breathing hole. He probably speared it. I have kind of heard stories about it. It seems like it is a legend, and yet it is not quite a legend the way I heard it. I think that the guy poked the eye of the bear when it came up for air. It couldn’t see anymore and so he ended up killing it. David’s wife: I heard that they lived in the water. David: I just wanted to say that Qukshuut’s dogs could pull four whole polar bears. They were more powerful than a skidoo. When we first went polar bear hunting we caught four and maybe there were 7 or 8 dogs and they had no problem pulling all of them. I never even remember walking. It is almost like we were riding on the sled too. David: The second time we went we caught three and the dogs had no problem pulling it, not like a skidoo. When we were polar bear hunting we were chasing a polar bear on foot. We caught them and took the guts out. Qukshuut took the stomach out and turned it inside out and put snow in and tied it up and put it back in the polar bear. When we came back with the sled the water was all melted and we had cold water. It was not disgusting to us. You can also make water with a muskox stomach just before you skin it.

Appendix 2 Field Trip and Interview Notes: 3-16 April 2002 The field trip portion of the study involved travelling to the north end of King William Island by snow machine during the period April 4 to 16, 2002. Elders Bob Konana and George Kamookak were selected to lead the trip by the Gjoa Haven HTO because of their authority as senior polar bear hunters, their ability to undertake such physically demanding activity. Youth Trainees Ian Kamookak and John Pukiqnaq were selected by the HTO after a call was put out over the radio for interested youth. The selection of trainees was based on consultation with their instructors who verified their superior performance in high school. Geographer Darren Keith was the lead IQ researcher on the trip, with Jerry Arqviq as co-researcher. Filmmaker Charles Liard of Big Fish Productions (Yellowknife) accompanied the party to make a video documentary of the trip. The Gjoa Haven HTO scheduled the field trip to coincide with a period when IQ predicts that polar bear maternity dens are likely to be vacated. The objectives of the trip were to make observations on: 1) the location and number of vacated maternity dens identified earlier, and number of cubs that survived to exit the dens; 2) polar bear sign such as tracks, and kills; 3) evidence of polar bear behaviour; 4) the state of environmental conditions that impact polar bear ecology. These data and any inferences deriving from them were recorded during informal and semidirected interviews with the Elders in the field. Additional interviews were conducted with Elders in the field covering new subjects that may be context specific, as well as previously discussed subjects that may be better illustrated on the land. Selected interviews and activities were recorded on video for inclusion in the professional documentary. The video was produced to ensure there would be a high-quality product for communicating the results of the project in A2: 185

Inuktitut.1 Youth trainees were present for many of the oral and video interviews, and the Elders were always available to answer questions and to teach them about IQ related to polar bears, the sea-ice, and the geography of the region. Apart from the interviews captured on video, all statements and observations were recorded in field notes, on maps, and on a hand-held GPS during the fieldtrip.

1

A documentary video of the field trip is archived currently in the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization office. A2: 186

Trip Description After making necessary preparations in Gjoa Haven during the afternoon of April 3 and the morning and afternoon of April 4, we left Gjoa Haven in the late afternoon of April 4. The first camp was set at the cabin at Kakivakturvik. The second day, April 5, we kept moving north, passing through Iqalungmiut, where fish caches were observed. We then carried on up Peel Inlet and into Humboldt Channel. The two hills of Iviangirnaq were visited to look for dens and to assess the snow conditions. We looked at the southern hill first and Bob Konana said that there was not enough snow to make denning possible. He later said the same about the northern hill (A2:29). We carried on up the Humboldt Channel and past Uplutuuq, to Kingiktuarjuk where the second camp was made. The camp remained at Kingiktuarjuk the nights of April 6 and 7. On the morning of April 6, an excursion was made out along the reef off the north end of Kingiktuarjuk. Bad weather kept us in camp until conditions improved on the morning of April 8. On the morning of April 8 we departed Kingiktuarjuk and passed the southern end of Uplutuuq where Bob Konana noticed a telltale pile of snow from a polar bear digging. We went to see if it was a den, and Bob Konana, George Kamookak and Jerry Arqviq tested around the area with their harpoons. They did not find a den and determined that is was where a bear had dug to test for denning and didn’t like the conditions (A2:125). When asked if there was enough snow for dens on the islands of Kingiktuarjuk and Uplutuuq Bob Konana replied said that there was enough snow on these islands for denning at present, but he couldn’t say if there was enough in November when the bears were looking for dens (A2:125). We continued to travel for the rest of the day until we arrived at the lake Tununiq where we set up camp, and Bob Konana set fish nets. This was only to be an overnight stop; however severe weather conditions kept us pinned down in small iglus until April 10, when the weather improved and we began moving north along the valley of the outlet creek of Tununiq and into Port Parry. Three bearded seals were seen basking on the ice at the mouth of Port Parry. We continued on to Iglukpaktalik (Cape Sidney) and set up camp in the HTO’s hunting cabin there.

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We were based out of this cabin for the remainder of the field trip. A decision was made, that due to the rough ice conditions this year, any attempt to circumnavigate the island would require that we travel steadily, without time to look at any one area thoroughly. April 11 was spent in and around the HTO cabin doing informal interviews and drying clothing and bedding. Part of the group went out in the afternoon as far as Ujarahugjulik to check one area for dens, and there were none. On the morning of April 12 the entire group set out toward Cape Felix. Some small icebergs were spotted. In the afternoon we went out toward Ujarahugjulik and beyond. We visited small island northeast of Ujarahugjulik where we were going to continue north, but rough ice conditions prevented us from going farther. George Kamookak went with the dog to investigate the south slope of the island and found four digging piles. Two were determined to have been dens that were exited by bears, one recently. We started moving back in the direction of the HTO cabin when Bob Konana spotted a male bear—a nuqaugaq. It had been running ahead of us and was overheated. It could only walk away from us into the rough ice. We went around and cut it off, then Jerry Arqviq pushed it toward the group and it was filmed. It was very fat and healthy. On April 13, we spent the morning working on Bob Konana’s snowmobile inside the cabin. The group went inland from Iglukpaktalik and explored some high hills and valleys where there could have been bear dens. Bob said that there could still be dens up there if there was enough snow in the fall (in November), but it is impossible to know. It would just be the females with cubs that would still be in dens at this time. One can only see the dig-outs. Bob commented on the lack of snow. On April 14 we again went out on the sea-ice to the north of Iglukpaktalik but we were stopped by very rough ice to the north of Ujarahugjulik. The morning of April 15 we left for Gjoa Haven, with one stop at Tununiq to pick up equipment left there, arriving at Gjoa Haven that night. On April 15, interviews were conducted on video with Bob Konana and George Kamookak.

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Field Trip Observations Observations such as den sites, tracks, and bear sightings made during the field trip were recorded on a hand-held GPS unit. Figure 19 is a map showing the location of field observations, camp locations, and the approximate areas covered during the survey. All the observations are summarized in Table 6. Figure 19: Observations from April 2002 Field Trip To King William Island.

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Table 6: Field Trip Observations ID

Comments

Male Bear T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9 Camp 2 Camp 3 Camp 4 S1, S2, S3

Male bear observed. It was not full-grown but a nukaugaq Tracks of a tattaq or piaralik probably made in November Old tracks and dug out seal holes, unidentifiable nukaugaq tracks nukaugaq tracks and evidence of it waiting at the seal hole nukaugaq tracks nukaugaq tracks Tracks of a tattaq anguruaq tracks nukaugaq Kingiktuarjuk Tununiq Iglukpaktalik Waypoints indicating the extent of an inland survey for dens from Iglukpaktalik A polar bear dug here and did not establish a den Four digging piles. Two dens were exited, one recently

Den 1 Den 2

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Date of Observation April 12 April 6 April 6 April 11 April 11 April 11 April 11 April 10 April 12 April 12 April 5-8 April 8-10 April 10-15 April 13 April 8 April 12

Field Notes 1. 2.

3. 4.

5.

6. 7.

8.

9. 10.

11. 12. 13.

14.

15.

16.

April 4 Travelled to Kakivakturvik where there was a little cabin on a big sled. We spent the night there. Darren: How is the snow? George: There is less snow than last year. Even the sea ice has less snow on it this year. Bob: Noticed there is less snow than last year. It is not the same every year. Some years there is more and some years less. Different types of seals: Qairulik—bigger than a ringed seal and more active. The color of their hair is different (Jerry says this is a harp seal). Qahigiak—harbour seal. These don’t show up very often. They are bigger than ringed seals. Nattivak—Hooded seal. Darren: Has there been a change in the relative number of these different species of the seal relative to the ringed and bearded seals? Are you getting more? Less? The same? Bob: No change in the relative numbers. Darren: What does qairulik mean? Bob: They don’t stay up above the water as long as a ringed seal. They have a way of breaking the water to breathe that is like a whale. Illaq—seal hole indicator. There are certain places where the bearded seals are, but ringed seals are everywhere. The feeding is different between ringed seal and bearded seal. The Uplutuuq area is good for bearded seal. There are also many bearded seals at Ugjulik. George Kamookak: Ugjuk (bearded seal)and nattiit (ringed seal)eat inangajak (small fish). They follow them around. They seem to be preferred by bearded seals. George Kamokak: Ugjulik—anywhere west of Quukitlruq and west to Hat Island/Putulik. George is not sure about the bearded seals that are reputed to be around the Umingmalik area. When asked if Umingmalik is more

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17. 18.

19. 20.

21.

22. 23.

24.

25.

26. 27.

the Cambridge Bay land use area he answered yes. George has never really heard the names of Admirality Island and Taylor Island. Darren: Are there any specific places for Qairuliit or Qahigiat? George: Qairuliit are rarely seen on this side of the Boothia Peninsula, but they are seen more often in the Thom Bay area (Itsuaturvik). Darren: Isn’t there a small seal too? George: Malatuuq—they have a big hump on their chest and they are usually skinnier. They are not feeding well. Unhealthy ringed seals. You eat them if you have nothing else to eat, but they taste different. Even their seal holes have a strong smell. Seal Terminology: Nattiit—Ringed Seals; Nattituq—females without cubs; Iplualik—pregnant females; Nattialik—females with pups; Nattiarniq—female that had pups that did not survive; Qavahimaittuq—new born pup with white hair; Qavaataaqtuq—pup after they shed; Aktuaktaq—adult male or female; Tiigaq—old male (stinky); Malatuuq—unhealthy ringed seal with a hump on its chest. Friday, April 5 Jerry said that fat, white-haired bears are preferred by hunters due to the fact that they bring in more money. Darren: If there is a continued moratorium for many years, what do you think? Jerry: Traditionally they say that the animals move around for food. If they come back next year we will be missing a good hunt. The biologists used to say that [that the numbers are too low] about the snow geese and now they are saying there are too many. Darren: Why are the bears yellow sometimes? Bob: From staying in the den; when they have been out for a while they turn white, and all bears that have stayed in the den are not like that. It could be from the droppings and urine in the den. As the snow accumulates over them in the den, they put new layers on the

28. 29.

30.

31. 32.

33.

34.

35.

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floor so they won’t be buried too deep under [scraped from the roof]. George: That is how they keep their dens really clean. Bob: If we have good weather all winter and don’t have too much snow then dens get iced up inside from staying in one area too long. Bob and George: The ice is kind of rough this year, other years it is smooth. Darren: How does the old ice this year compare to other years? Jerry: We can’t say yet at this location [must get up north of the island] George: There were two dens at Nilalik one time when I came by dog team. That year I spent summer and part of the winter in Taloyoak. George: Me and my father-in-law were chasing a bear with our dogs. We lost some of our dogs and had to walk home. Our dogs followed the bear and never came back. We only had 5 dogs left and I had to lead the dogs by walking back to Gjoa Haven. Three of them never showed up again, but one was later found at the old DEW Line Camp 2. George: Before Louie was born, so over 40 years ago—around 1959—it was smooth in this area [Humboldt Channel]. Beyond Cape Felix there were lots of piqalujaq [icebergs]. It is not like that anymore. Most times it used to be like that down there. Now you rarely see them. Darren: How do they compare to the piece of old ice we are beside? George: Much larger. Darren: How do they compare to the size of your house? George: Higher than my house [2 stories]. Some have big cracks in them, but you can’t see them because the icebergs are too high. Some of them were grounded on the bottom. Darren: How far out? George: They were out beyond, but within sight of, Cape Felix. Darren: Were they still around at the time of the tags? George: They were around even after the tags [came into use]

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Bob: That is where most of the polar bears would stay around. They would stay in small groups of piqalujat [icebergs]. Darren: Why? Bob: Because the seals would be around there. I caught a bear by a piqalujaq just east of Kingittuarjuk. It was a male but I am not sure what year that was. Evening of April 5 George goes through more seal terminology; Ugjuit—Bearded seals; Tirigluk—newborn; Ugjuaq—pup in its first summer.; Aliqsaq— yearling; Iritraaniq—After the first shed (about 2 years old); Inirnirungittuq—young adult; Qaqqiq—adult male; Naijuittuq—adult female; Iplaulik—pregnant female; Pamnguliaq—ringed seals or bearded seals when they have pulled up out of their hole and are crawling on the ice—only in spring. When Darren asked for Qairulik terms George said he was not sure because they rarely see them. He was sure that they did have names. Jerry: What happens when a seal [crawls out on the ice and] looses its seal hole? George: When a Nattiq or Ugjuk have pulled up out of their hole and are crawling they are referred to as Pamnguliaq. Bob: Even in the time of snowmobiles there were quite a few polar bears in the area of the island [Kingiktuarjuk] and the western side of Boothia Peninsula. Back then in the early skidoo days there were quite a few, but recently it has become hard to find male bears and big male bears, due to hunting from Taloyoak, Cambridge Bay and Gjoa Haven. Bob: The polar bear surveys said it was harder to find bigger bears. There are some smaller. I said it at the meeting, it is harder to see bigger bears than smaller. We have to go further north to find the bigger bears. Closer, it is mostly females, cubs and smaller bears.

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Bob: I am pretty sure that the big bears came close to the shores of King William Island, but it is harder to find them. Even around the King William Island shoreline of Victoria Strait it is harder to track bears. Darren: Are there less bears due to them being killed off? Bob: Recently the bears are further north and they seem to be easier to see further north. (The Ki’muagiaq area starts from the St. Roch Basin and goes northwest into the McClintock Channel where Gjoa Haven’s land use area ends.) Darren: Is it hunting that killed off big bears, or has hunting forced them to move? Bob: I think that they have been hunted out because 3 communities get so many tags every year. Bears don’t grow [to maturity] every year, so bears around King William Island and Boothia have been hunted out. I think that they are hunted out because the 3 communities have so many tags, if you put the tags together every year. Ever since there were tags in the 3 communities, we have gone out every year. Even before tags, we were hunting bears but there were bears then. We may not have gone every year, but almost. There were lots of bears back then. Ever since we got tags we have been catching more than usual. Everyone is looking for big bears and money right now. Before we were just looking for meat. I think that they have been catching more than in the earlier days. The time before skidoos came up when we had dogs, most hunters were catching bears in the dens. We didn’t have so many dogs then, so they were easiest to catch in the den. Jerry: [talking about some tracks that were made in ukiaksaaq (probably late November)] Those tracks were made when the snow was soft. They pack it with their weight and then the wind starts to work around it. Bob was able to identify these prints as a tattaq or piaralik.

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Bob: A long time ago when we had skidoos there used to be bear tracks going in and out of this ice formation (the Ikadlruq), but recently we don’t see this. (Later on we went looking for seal holes. George Kamookak showed us tracks and said it must be a fat bear. George talked about the fact that an iced over ugjuk hole that we saw was no longer used because a bear was going back and forth over the holes—we saw the tracks—and so they left. Ugjuit leave their holes easier than nattiit. That is why you find frozen over ugjuk holes.) Jerry: An old guy used to tell me ‘if you’re trying to catch an ugjuk, you had better catch it, or you won’t—a ringed seal will return.’ Bob: One time in an iglu in the middle of a storm I was with two brothers from Taloyoak. One of them didn’t speak or hear. They were David and John Tugalik. We were sealing because it was a storm. We cut up a seal inside the iglu and then put the skin and blubber outside and tried to go to sleep. The two brothers had already gone to sleep when I heard some very quiet footsteps outside. I kept listening very closely. Just when I started to think it was a bear, it grabbed something from in front of the iglu. I woke David up because he was next to me. David had his rifle inside the iglu because he was working on it the day before. I told him to take his rifle. I made a small hole in the iglu and looked through to see that there was a polar bear a few feet away from me. I looked back and for some reason David woke up Johnny. David and his brother did some sign language and John knew right away it was a polar bear. I looked at them and David was already shaking, but his brother wasn’t. I cut a hole in the door big enough so I could put a rifle through it. We had a diesel fuel lantern and so we made it very low so we could see outside better. The bear didn’t go far so I asked David to shoot it. As David was getting ready I said that I was going to watch the bear while he shot it. He told me that he was ready and suddenly he shot the bear. As soon as he shot at the bear, the bear started running away. I put on my duffles and grabbed a rifle and

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ran to see if it was close by, but it was gone already. So I ran towards the ocean where I thought it would be. But there were atuarut [shoreline cracks] and I couldn’t see it so I ran a little farther and I went over a small maniilaq. As soon as I went on top I saw the bear right in front of me in the dark. It was walking slow because it was hit. So I was waiting for the two brothers. When the two brothers got to me I asked them why it took them so long. They said because they kept falling trying to go after me in the dark. The ground looked smooth but the two brothers kept falling. I gave the rifle to Johnny and told him to shoot the bear. As soon as Johnny took the rifle he started walking towards the bear. He didn’t even answer any questions. He walked right up to the bear within 2 feet and shot it in the neck. I went back to pick up my sled and skidoo. When we were trying to load the bear on the sled it was huge. I have never seen a bear like that ever since. That time I had a sled a bit smaller than the one I now have and it covered the whole sled when we brought it back to the iglu. We just took the guts out and left the rest for the next day. The next day there were 3 fresh bear tracks and the seal skin was gone. And nobody heard them. David caught that bear and he still has the skull. That was David’s first bear. We skinned the bear the next day. Darren: Why do people keep the skulls? Bob: There are a couple of reasons. When the parents want their child to keep the skull of their first catch, the parents work on the head and polish it. They let them keep the skull of their first catch. Many people wanted to buy the one that David has, but he had to keep it because his father fixed it for him to keep. He got that before he had a wife. Now he has grandchildren. Another way is if the person says they want to keep the skull. Then they ask their parents (though it might not be their first). The parents were our bosses at that time. If they wanted us to keep the skull then we kept it. Darren: I saw your son Billy’s skull.

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Bob: Yes, it was his first but he sold it to a Qablunaaq. We sold the skull and Billy and I shared the money. Darren: That bearded seal you caught yesterday was a naijuittuq? Bob: Yesterday I caught a naijuittuq. When an ugjuk is newborn it is called tirigluk. In their first winter they are called aliqsaq. Older than aliqsaq are called iritraaniq. Darren: How can you tell the difference? Bob: We know by the fur. Aliqsaq have thicker hair in the winter. We know iritraaniq by the shorter hair and some skins don’t even have hair [they shed in between these stages]. Inirniungittuq is the stage just before adulthood. They are not as big as a full grown adult. Qadgiq—Adult male; Naijuittuq—Adult female; Iplaulik—a pregnant female; Iplauq—fetus or unborn pup. Darren: [asked about the extent of the range of ugjuks] Bob: [the main concentrations of bearded seals are from the Tennant Islands (Qikiqtarjuaq, Uplutuuq, Kingiqtuarjuk and Haglaarjuk) north along the Boothia Peninsula and around Nuvuk (Cape Felix) including Ujarahugjulik and along the west coast and Victoria Strait connecting Ugjulik and also in the vicinity of Umingmalik.] Long ago we used to seal hunt every day. Seals provided heat and meat. There seemed to be less seals then. There seem to be more now. Bob: Not too long ago when I went polar bear hunting in the Ujarahugulik area [to the east or southeast] with an older guy who has since passed away there seemed to be a thousand seals in this angmaruq [crack] in spring. There were so many some weren’t even moving as we passed by. Even if you passed by within five feet they would not move. Seals move around too, but even in earlier times the hunters would find where the seals are and they would catch more than one every day.

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Bob: When I was a kid when we were in Inuviaqtut [an island in Ugjulik]. We were catching lots of seals in one winter. We were still catching seals when we left that area. Around Ak&aktalik we did the same thing—catch seals when I was a young teenager. That was the time when I caught two seals in one hole. I felt like a man catching two seals in one hole. Bob: My first seal was in Aqiggiqtuuq when I was a kid. I was the happiest boy. I had to turn away from my parents to smile. Anything I looked at I wanted to smile. Since I was a young boy I let my father pull it out for me. After a few minutes I wasn’t happy anymore. My dad started cutting it up and started giving it to the dogs and to the people. I was not happy anymore because it looked ugly; at first it looked so nice in the springtime. It was a tradition of the old times when we caught our first seal. My father did what he had to do. He cut it up and gave it to the dogs and the rest to the people. There is a meaning for that. My father wanted me to catch a seal every once in a while. Darren: Did he give away all the seal? Bob: He gave a little bit of fat and meat to the dogs and brought some of the meat back here [to Gjoa Haven]. Darren: What about when a person first catches a polar bear. Are there any traditions? Bob: I am not sure about the polar bear because I was not around that area as a kid. I was grown up when I really started hunting polar bears. Darren: When David’s father prepared that skull for him, would the skull bring him anything? Bob: We would do the same thing as the seal with someone’s first bear catch. The reason was for it to be easy for them to catch something next time. Darren: How does that work? Do the animals know? Bob: It doesn’t happen to all the people that do that. I am not sure how the animals think or how the people think. It is a tradition of

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long ago. We follow the tradition; even if we do that it doesn’t happen to all those kids who catch their first animals. Most parents want the best for their kids, but it doesn’t happen to all of them. It is just a tradition for the first catch. Bob: When I was a new born, when I was a baby my grandfather put a fox paw on top of my feet. That was a sign that when I was looking for a seal hole it would be easier for me to find a seal hole. That is why my grandfather put a seal paw on top of my feet. That is what they do to newborns. Not only fox paws but whatever the grandparents want the granddaughter or son to do. It is not only the foot, but they may be on the hands or the body. My mother also put a niguarjuk [spider?] between my fingers and broke it between my fingers. That meant that I would be a fast runner. Bob: When I was a child my parents used to tell me when we were having polar bear meat never to chew off the meat or to chew the soft bones (ribs). If you do that you may be attacked by a polar bear. Jerry: My parents used to tell me to use a knife when eating polar bear or else you might be attacked by a polar bear. If you want to be a hunter. Bob: Even to any kind of animal you have to be gentle how you treat an animal. My parents used to say if you are going to kill it kill it right away. Treat it nice. Even if it is a small animal. If you are not going to kill it leave it right away and don’t bother it. That is what they used to tell me when I was a kid. It was to help me be a good hunter. Traditionally that is what you had to do because we learned from the past. We noticed if someone doesn’t treat animals right—small or big—their lives change, or they don’t live as long. Or they get sick. That doesn’t happen to a lot of people, just a few. Bob: For the people who don’t treat the animal right it depends how they react to the animal. Even if you just laugh at the wounded animal, or how you bother the animal, that effects your life. You might not notice it, but it happens to a person. Just by laughing at the animal or bothering a wounded animal something will happen.

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Darren: Why is it important that you keep polar bear hunting or that the people keep polar bear hunting? George: The reason why we want to keep hunting bears is for the skin, and it is also part of our traditional food. The polar bear skin is how we make money out of it—the unemployed hunters. It is important because of the wages of the guides that don’t make money permanently at home, and for the meat that is the traditional food for the older people—that is what they like. Bob: We want to keep our traditions from long ago. Not just for the meat, but also for the hide. We used to use the hide for sleds. We used to hunt them with bow and arrow and snow knife. We have been eating it ever since. Won’t comment on what George had to say. If there are enough bears, we would like to keep catching bears. Jerry: Why do people still want these animals [polar bears]? Bob: Since the old days we wanted the bear and we still want it. Even now that it has a price, the meat is still good, that is why we still want it. We like the meat and the animal. Darren: Why is it important that we do this study on polar bears? Bob: It is important that we are doing this right now, not just for the polar bear but for the young guys. We are going to talk to the young guys about what they see. They are going to be surprised by what they see later. Even the seal hunting yesterday is going to help the young people. This is going to help a lot about the traditional way of travelling. This is going to help a lot for the youth, for us and for the people that it is on paper and on film. George: I don’t have much comment. But first I want to mention that the hide of the polar bear, before we had tags we used to use them for cloths, sleds and for anything. But these days, after the tags we can’t take anything from the hide anymore, because we don’t want to cut them, and spoil the hide because of the price. Darren: Why do you think it is harder to find polar bears now? Big ones?

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George: When I used to go hunting by dog team I noticed that there were bears close by even at Hiuraarjuaq and there were quite a few bears. I am not sure what caused the bears to go away or to be fewer. Then hunters go out on skidoos and the noise of the machines is loud; and there are more [non-Inuit] hunters come every year for the polar bear hunt; and the condition of the ocean has changed. It is harder to find seal holes in the new rough ice then in the smooth new ice and around piqalujat. It is easier to find polar bears around piqalujat. And maybe because of the planes and helicopters. Maybe they are flying more above us. Darren: Is there any effect from the three communities hunting the bears? George: After the tags were put out to those three communities they said try to catch mostly males. We were told to catch mostly males. With the three communities trying to fill their tags every year. That could be the reason for there being less big male bears. Before we had tags we hunted any polar bear, even if it was a small one. We just got it for food. After the tags we were told to try and get the biggest bear and try to save the females. Maybe that is why there are fewer big male bears. Darren: Have there been any rains at unusual times? George: Rain is late. When we were still using ipruk . for the sled runners it would always rain. But now there seems to be water on the ocean [ice] by the time it rains. Before it used to rain before there was water on the ice. Darren: What season? George: This occurs in upinngaaq [spring]. Water on top of the sea ice seems to come earlier than in the earlier days. Baby seals are born right now in April. Darren: Have you ever seen any collapsed polar bear dens? George: Only seen an open den with bears inside. Darren: How is the snow accumulation this year?

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George: I noticed that there is hardly any snow. Even the ocean has less snow and the lakes have no snow. Darren: Last year? George: There is way less snow this year than last year. The usual amount of snow is …. Darren: And how does the last five years compare? George: Each year was about the same as last year. Darren: In a 1985 Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development (RWED) [GNWT Department] bear den survey there was very little snow. George: Some years there is more snow and other years there is less snow. It’s different from year to year. Question: Kingiktuarjuk and Uplutuuq [just visited]: do they have enough snow for dens? George: I haven’t been there often but I think there is less snow than usual. Darren: What does that mean for denning? George: If there were bears around that area I was pretty sure there would be dens around those islands. The reason there were no dens is that there are not many polar bears around that area. April 8 We left Kinktuarjuk and travelled across by Uplutuuq. Bob noticed a tell tale pile of snow from a polar bear digging. We went to see if it was a den and they tested around the area with their harpoons. They did not find a den and determined that is was where a bear had dug to test for denning and didn’t like the conditions. George went first with the dog and with a harpoon and pana [snow knife] in hand. Later he said that if the dog started digging and kept on digging and stopping to listen to the animal below, then they would have known that there was a bear there. Bob said that there was enough snow there and at Kingiktuarjuk for denning. At least now,

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April 9 Bob says that Quglungniit are the most important for bears. They like to follow and cross them. The next most important are aijuraq; the good ones with lots of seal holes. April 10 Darren: Who used to hunt polar bears up here? Bob: Nattillingmiut. George: The Illuilirmiut/Ugjulingmiut were the same people and they hunted polar bears a lot at Hiuraarjuaq and Putulik. Darren: Would they ever go as far west as Jenny Lind Island? George: Not sure about Jenny Lind Island. This is Killinirmiut area. The Perry River people are Killinirmiut. We used to meet Killinirmiut people when we were seal hunting in the winter at Ugjulik. Some Killinirmiut moved to Atanikittuq when the store opened there. The area of Ugjulik was mostly used by Killinirmiut people in the old days. Even right near Quukilruq. Quukilrumiut were the same as Illuilirmiut. Different than Nattilingmiut. It was the Nattilingmiut that used the Ki’muagiaq area, but once in a while Killinirmiut would come. Darren: What about Umingmalik? Who used it? George: Not sure about that area in the old days, but now it is used once in a while by Gjoa Haven people. Mostly used by Killinirmiut [Cambridge Bay]. Bob: Mostly Nattilik people would be on the west coast of Boothia and Kingailaq. Darren: Would they live there year round a long time ago? Bob: They would live there all year. The time they went away from it was in the spring when they went to trade. Jerry: What do bears look like in the dark?

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Bob: They would be hard to spot even if they are close. Darren: What do you do if you encounter a bear? Bob: From my experience when a polar bear gets to your iglu suddenly without your knowing don’t panic. Listen carefully for where it is. What is getting. Try to remember where your rifle or pana is. If you have a dog, watch where the dog is. Sometimes the dog can be on the other side of the bear. Bob: One time I caught a bear with a 22 towards Kuuk. When I was younger a polar bear arrived at our camp during a night with poor moonlight. Somebody heard it. The pups were barking so she checked to see why they barked. She didn’t see anything so she told the pups to be quiet. A bear stood up in the middle of the pups. She ran in and told the men. That is when I caught a polar bear with a 22. In the middle of the night there were 3 other iglus. I caught the polar bear with a 22 and one dog. Bob: A person from Taloyoak told a story—a bear got to their iglu. He crushed their iglu from the outside. His two sons were sleeping and the bear got into the iglu. The stove was still on. They survived with that lit stove. They kept putting fire towards its face. If you were to camp out in the polar bear areas you have to remember where your equipment is. Your pana has to be in the iglu. A rifle should be outside very close to the door. Remember where your weapons are. Jerry: In aujaq a polar bear came to us. We were across from here at Qadgiuraq. A bear got to us early in the morning the night we got back to camp from caribou hunting. The bear came after we were sleeping and started eating our caribou. We had one dog and we heard it barking. I peaked through the door of the tent. There was a bear facing the ocean eating the caribou meat. The dog was barking next to it. We waited in the tent to see. The bear was not that hungry and so it left. George: You know by the look of the bears, how they hold their head. The ones that are looking over their shoulder are shy. If they are looking under their shoulder they are not so shy.

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April 11th Darren: Why did you look to the sides from the digging at Uplutuuq? Bob: The bears move in their den. That is why when the den was not in the area of the digging we started looking to the side. Jerry: Why do they move? Bob: They don’t stay in one spot they move either up or sideways. They don’t stay in one spot for a long time. Some of them take longer to move from their area. Some move faster than others. They try to keep their den roofs as thin as possible as the snow accumulates. Darren: Why is that for air? Bob: It could be for air or also because they try to keep their dens as clear as possible from pee and shit. Darren: Have you ever heard of a polar bear den being caved in? Bob: I heard a story about a person falling into the den with a polar bear inside. When that happens the polar bear doesn’t immediately attack the person. But I have never seen it happen. When someone comes by the den sometimes the polar bear puts their head out and some of them get right out of their dens. I have heard of someone from towards Malirrualik. The person was near the den and the bear got out of the den and the wife saved the guy by shooting the bear. Bob: Especially at this time of the weather [early April]. This is the time when the den is thinnest. As more daylight comes they get thinner and thinner. In the cold of the winter they are dangerous, but not as dangerous as right now. If we are by dens this week I want everyone to be careful because there are so many of us and some know nothing about bears in dens. If a person is attacked by a bear and the person tries to defend himself and they realize this, they start walking backwards instead of running away. Bob: Ugjuit come out of ringed seal holes sometimes. This happened to me once before, but I struck it but didn’t catch it.

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Darren: What does it mean to you personally that there may not be polar bear hunting up here for a long time? Bob: As hunters ourselves we are not happy. The reason why is we know the polar bears move around and we know they are still around. They may not be big but they are still around. As hunters most men don’t agree with what is going on. Paul Eleeheetook [came to deliver gas and naptha]: What I think. I don’t agree because of the meat. This is one of our traditional foods. As Elders we like the meat of the polar bear. That is another reason we don’t agree with what is going on ourselves. Paul: Even the Elders that don’t hunt anymore are expecting polar bear meat when someone catches a polar bear. Even if they don’t hunt anymore they expect the meat. I know the Elders aren’t happy because the hunters can’t get their bear anymore. I also know there is a regulation and that is why there is no polar bear hunting. But as soon as they are open again he is sure that someone is going to start hunting again for the meat and the hide. We have to listen to regulations. That is what we are doing right now even if we are not happy with it. Those are my thoughts. Darren: In the past did people ever have to think about not killing too many bears or was it not an issue? Bob: In the old days we didn’t really think about how much we caught. We didn’t really think there would be less in the future. But now there are more people and more transportation going out and maybe we are catching more bears. Paul: I think in the old days we used to catch whatever we can catch. The younger guys try to follow the Elders. If we didn’t have regulations we would probably do the same thing. George: I think the same but to catch animals such as bears we used to have to feed our dogs from whatever we can catch. And we share the meat with the people who live with. We had to get as much meat as we can for ourselves and our dogs. Even now I try to

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get enough meat for myself and my dogs. But now I still have to buy dog food. Darren: Is there a certain way to share polar bear meat? George: Yes we do that with bear and ugjuk. It is called Ningiqtuq. The bear is caught. Whoever is the first person to meet the hunter would get one hindquarter. The second would get the other side. Darren: Who would get the 3rd? George: The 3rd would get the lower back (kuujaq). Kuujaqsaqtuq is the term for the person getting that part. Mimaqtuq is the term for the first two who get the hindquarters. Darren: And the 4th? George: The most important was the first three people. The first three would get the most meat. After those three they would also get some meat. After someone caught a polar bear. Darren: Would the hunter get any? George: They would get some meat if it was polar bear or bearded seal being divided, but in the case of a ringed seal they would almost have nothing. Darren: Would you go with anyone sealing or were there certain people? Bob: The camp would be mostly related people seal hunting together. But if there is a hunter from someplace else he is free to go with them. He doesn’t have to be related. Darren: Have you ever heard of relationships where people would be named by a part of an animal? What does it mean? George: It was mostly for seal. The hunter for seal would have a name—even if you are unrelated to the person—of what he is to you, and they would get that part of the body. The person who got the seal would hardly get any. The guts, the skin and a little bit of fat. This relationship is called niqaiturvigiit—body part partners. Tuq&uraut—kinship and partnership terms. They could be anyone that become niqaiturvigiit. They don’t have to be related by blood or marriage.

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Bob: It is a tradition from long ago. If I have that kind of relationship it would have come from my great, great grandparents. It is by names. This is only for ringed seals, not for polar bears or bearded seals. Darren: Were there any animals or fish that people consciously watched to ensure they were not over harvested? Bob: In the old days we used to always move around. If there was not much in one area we would move to another area. George: With the growing population we have been catching more animals. For the ones with tags we will catch that much. For the ones without tags we will continue to catch as many as we can for the growing population to continue. Track 1—[see video for sex]; Track 2—old track - looked like a female but can’t say how big; Track 3—nuqaugaq Track 4—nuqaugaq – was digging and it was waiting for the seal there; Track 5—nuqaugaq; Track 6—nuqaugaq; Track 7—tattaq; Camp 3—Tununiq; Camp 4—Iglukpaktalik April 12 Jerry, Charles and I (Darren) had to turn around on trip out this morning due to the camera breaking down. Bob and crew were ahead and they saw some low icebergs. They were big enough to be considered icebergs. They were the highest ones he has seen all trip. Most would simply be considered hikutuqaq and new ice. Bob: We have seen small piqalujat. This is a change as before [in previous years] we didn’t see any, but this year there are some small ones. Darren: How do the number of tracks we have seen around here compare to previous years. Bob: Same as usual. Ningiq—sharing the different parts of the body. Darren: What were the uses of the bones, teeth, claws…? Bob: The bones of the forelegs were used for tools such as scrapers. And the skinny foreleg bone would be used as a fork for moving the

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meat around when cooking it. Also the strong bones would be used as spearheads and bow and arrowheads because they are hard and sharp. The bones of the legs used to be used as scrapers for scraping seal and caribou skins. Back leg bones: Qukturaq—femur; Atiraq—shin bone; iliraq—other lower leg bone. Foreleg: Aqsatqaq— top of forearm; can’t remember the names of the foreleg bones. The skin scrapers were made out of the qukturaq. They are the widest and the easiest to make it from. The front and the back paws are called tukiq. They are the best eating. Tulimaq—the ribs—were used for a bow drill, and for scratching your back. Teeth—they would use them as Iqaluuraq—a fishing lure that looks like a fish. It was carved from a tuluriaq (canine). Also used them for a haniruaq— a t-hook to put on the line out to the dogteam from the qamutik. Used them for other little things for seal hunting and other little handles. Travel out to Ujarahugjulik area; saw tracks of nukaugaq Track 9; saw tracks of an Anguruaq Track 8 and followed them, but we were stopped by rough ice conditions; searched for dens and found four digging piles at waypoint Den 2. One was very large and this one was exited by a bear, according to George. We shot a video interview about the 2 dens and how you tell there is a den and how you test for a den with a harpoon. We ran into a very large Nukaugaq. Bob spotted it. It had been running ahead of us and was overheated. It could only walk away from us into the manilaqs. We went around and cut it off, then Jerry pushed it to us and Charles got it on film. It was also very fat and healthy. We talked about snowdrifts. Kahuk&ak are small and short. Qimugjuq are larger, longer and more permanent looking. Bob: Snowdrifts, snow, rain, sun, waves, these are all nalunaipkutaq—guides for navigation. Discussed how dens or test holes for dens can be identified easily after they are filled in and after there has been blowing snow or storms, as these disturbed piles harden and only the surrounding snow will be blown away. Location of bear sighting: Nukaugaq 69

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58.260; 97 20.225. Bob and Jerry talked about how they wanted to shoot the bear and how fat it was. Bob’s excitement was clearly visible and George said the words ‘niqittiavak’—excellent meat. Bob: If you are following a pressure ridge and you see only old tracks keep following it, because newer tracks will always cross it at some point. Jerry: Asked about the bears’ reaction when Jerry was coming from the other direction pushing it to us. How did it look? Bob: When we were there with the bear the head was mostly down low. But when Jerry started coming the head went up with a long neck. Its head towards Jerry. That could mean it is dangerous towards Jerry. If it was not dangerous it would keep its head down. Darren: What do you see out there on the sea ice? Bob: When I am travelling around the ocean I focus on flat ice, low ice. I try to avoid rough ice as much as possible. When I look around and when I am travelling I am looking for animals all the time. I look for tracks all the time and I look for cracks all the time. I look at the condition of the cracks and the tracks around the cracks or the tracks on the ice. Most times I try to go through smooth areas and I climb up on manilaqs to see what is ahead of me, and where you are going to go. That is what I look for. Even if I have to go through rough areas sometimes to get to the flat area I will use it. When I am down there. When I check to see where I am trying to go. It is rough for a long distance I might have to change my direction to get where I am going. As you get further out in the ocean it gets smoother. George: For me most of the hunters have the same ideas when out on the land. We try to look for a place where there are animals. Look for smooth areas, the condition of the cracks and the animal tracks. When I was younger I was not thinking about hard times. What we are going to go through. But right now as we get older we kind of wonder if we are going to make it or not. When we were younger things were easy to do. Right now we get tired easy and we worry about being able to do things.

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Bob: Even if you are a hunter you have to think of safety first. I watch out for ice conditions. It is different in different areas— aukarniqs. I try to watch for that and I try to avoid going through the aukarniqs that I know. When I look around on top of the hill I am looking for dangerous ice conditions. Even when you are travelling on the land you have to watch the condition of the land. Even if it is land it can still be dangerous. Watch for Kuuruk—creeks and cliffs. An area might be smooth, but it could have a cliff. When you are travelling in blowing snow it could be dangerous. You have to think of safety first—of yourself and your crew. Bob: There is really no snow all around this year, on the ocean and on the land. The Ujarahugjulik islands really didn’t have any snow. The denning areas on that island, the little cliff really didn’t have any snow. When I saw a den with a polar bear in that area there was more snow around. Right now there is no snow. It was not long ago. Before Nunavut. Maybe 1998 or close to it. It was a mother and a nalitqariqhiniq. Darren: If there is an extended moratorium how are the youth going to learn about polar bear hunting? Bob: If the tags are not going to be given out for a long time the younger guys are not going to be happy because they are not going to be able to go with the hunters to learn about bears. Even for the Elders we will be very unhappy about it and I think it is a bad idea. Jonathon: So Ian and I are very luck to get to do this. Bob: Even myself, I think it is a good idea getting these younger guys to go with them. They experience old tracks, new tracks, fresh tracks. Also the biologists are going to get an idea of what is out here, if they see them in writing and on film. More people in Gjoa Haven should have a voice about what is happening out here. More than just us two [Bob and George]. Darren: What can be done to make sure the knowledge is passed on if there is no polar bear hunting for years?

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Bob: My idea is that the younger people should always go with Elders when they go hunting. That is the only way they can learn about the land or the weather. Even just hunting for caribou or anything else. I would encourage them to go with the Elders to hunt as they will learn. If they stay in town and don’t camp they won’t learn. Even for big game and small game there are different ways of hunting. For a big animal you can’t take it home whole, you have to take it apart. A small animal you can take home whole, even with skin on. That is the only way we are going to learn how to handle the animal properly. George: My suggestion is even if they are in school in the winter time, because they have to get their education—even then they should go out once in a while in the winter. Even in spring and summer time it helps a lot. Because you have to have food for the winter and they can learn how to make dry meat and dry fish and cache meat for the winter. Can also learn how to skin animals and take animals apart. The fastest way we used to learn is to do it in action instead of by hearing. The same in the winter and in the spring. Education is important in English and in Inuktitut. The Elders mainly speak English on the land. If they are in town they will mostly be around groups that are speaking English. And when they are on the land they listen to people telling stories in Inuktitut. George: For myself when it is warmer days I try to take out my two sons and teach them how to skin an animal and they ask questions and that is how they learn how to skin an animal. Yesterday when we were around that polar bear there is a good experience there what we did. It was good for these young guys to see. We need to think about how dangerous that bear can be. Even me, I went to a high piece of ice and I told my son to stay near the sled. I didn’t take a rifle or knife because I knew there were others with a rifle. I knew that someone would shoot it if it attacked me. That was a good experience for the younger guys. You have to think about the

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reaction of the animal. I went to that piece of ice because I wanted to get a good video of the polar bear from on top. Jerry: When I first caribou hunted when I was a teenager with a snow machine I was chasing a caribou. I was chasing and chasing. I was asked to catch a caribou by an experienced caribou hunter. My first time chasing a caribou on snowmobile. I chased it until it dripped. There were two other guys following me. The experienced hunters were following me for my safety. I was following the caribou for over an hour. When I finally caught it the two guys said I was a dangerous hunter. I would have damaged myself and also damaged the animal by chasing it to death. If I knew how to hunt the meat would taste better for the Elders and it would be not be dangerous for myself. I didn’t learn that I would still be like that today. I think it is a good idea that what we are doing and the Elders should speak about what they know. George: That is a good way too, by listening to the Elders or doing a favour for them. Bob: That is a good example of what I was just talking about. I had the same experience when we first got machines. I chased a caribou until it dropped and I found out that the meat tastes different based on how you kill the animal. You can tell by catching the animal. A tired animal from a not too tired animal. If you chase it to death it tastes different when it is dead. All the animals are a little different. Polar bear is a little different. They don’t run for a long time. They run for a little while then they are tired already. Maybe because they are big. When a tired polar bear collapses on the snow it doesn’t mean he is really tired. It just means he is too hot and they just lay on the ice flat on its belly. It will look really non-threatening like that [but it is still dangerous]. In the old days before snow machines they used to hunt by dogs and they would crawl up to a caribou. There are ways of crawling up to a caribou in a flat area and around the hills. These are things you have to learn too. How to crawl up in the summer time. When you are watching a caribou or animal you have

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to watch the movements. And for seals it is the same thing. For different animals there are different ways to crawl up to the animal. You have to be very careful when crawling up. Those are things you have to know to hunt different types of animals. Bob and George say that the rivers are drying up all around and that the ocean is even going down in the area of Gjoa Haven and Quukitlruq. George gave examples of Umiujak where a bay has become land. And bob talked about how Gjoa Haven harbour is getting smaller and narrower. April 14th Darren: Do bears mauqhuktuq? George Most times they wait for the seal alone, but they also do it in a family group. But if there is a polar bear [unrelated] group, they will also do it in a group. Bob: They hunt as a group, but the big males, they stay in a hole for a long time. Until they catch one or sometimes they don’t catch any at all. I have seen a polar bear preparing the seal hole. The cleared all the snow all around it and made it really thin right to the ice cone over the whole. It was really thin, so that he could easily grab the seal when it came up. It was really nice. Most times they don’t bother working on the seal hole. They know how hard the snow is and they crush down when the seal pulls out into its lair. It there was a seal in its pull-out lair, they also know this from a distance and they sneak up to it and as soon as they are close enough they take a couple of big hops and crush down on the lair. That is how they catch the seal too. Bob: Just before there started being so many snow machines someone with a dogteam discovered a polar bear stuck in a seal hole. It drowned in a seal hole. The bear was blotted with the gases of decay. It was stinky and it was so full of gas the water was way down the seal hole [from the pressure]. The bear attacked the seal and got stuck in the seal hole.

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Jerry: I have seen this in Tikiraarjuaq on this side of Boothia. There was 3 or 4 bears waiting at the seal hole. One was walking back and forth on the crack (hivuqtuq). Jerry: Why do they slide and roll when they are running away? Bob: They are dangerous when they do that. It is called piqtailiraqtuq [when they slide with one arm back]. They are very dangerous when they do that because they are very fast. They keep their back legs straight. They slide until they stop. Tikpakqutit—new ice got thick in one spot and the adjacent area froze later. Wind blew the newly forming ice onto the thicker new ice. Yesterday, April 13th, we went inland from Iglukpaktalik and visited some high hills and valleys where there could have been bear dens. Bob said that there could still be dens up there if there was enough snow in the fall (Nov.), but it is impossible to know. It would just be the females with cubs that would still be in dens at this time. One can only see the dig outs. Bob commented on the lack of snow. He later commented that there was really no snow and we probably wouldn’t see any dens. The weather was very bad with poor visibility—niptaituq—white out. The morning was windy and cold. We went out on the sea ice again and saw two sets of atciqtaq tracks at waypoint LD1. Continued to search but bound no more tracks or the seal kill we were hoping for…Stopped by very rough ice to the north of Ujarahugjulik. When the seal hole is located using an unaaq or harpoon it is dug out with the snow knife and by hand and then the hole is tested using a hapgutaaruq. This is a bent metal rod. By turning it around the sides of the hole, the hunter can tell where the middle of the hole is, and also which way the seal is facing when it comes up. The side that it faces when it comes up is rough from the seals’ claws. Where his back will be is smooth.

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Back in Gjoa Haven at the Elders building. When they cut into the stomach of a polar bear sometimes, they find exact square pieces of sealskin, as if they were cut with a knife.

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Appendix 3 Interview Transcripts: 10 June 2002 1.

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George Konana—June 10, 2002 (Interviewed by Darren Keith in English) Darren: I would like to just start with some background questions, just to get an idea of where you grew up and what areas you used. So…when and where were you born? George: I was born in about ’58. May 6th ’58. I was born maybe down here somewhere. Right in this area somewhere. Darren: Are there any place names there? George: Yes, around Ak&aktalik or something [East side of King William Island]. Darren: And your family… you would consider yourselves Nattilingmiut? George: Yes. Darren: When you first started remembering, what areas were you using? George: When I started remembering we were a bit in this area [East side of King William Island] and around here: the Thom Bay area. Darren: So on the other side of Taloyoak. And a little bit over… George: And a little bit around here [East side of King William Island]. Darren: And when you were a teenager? George: Yes. When I was a boy we used to go back and forth between Taloyoak and here, Gjoa Haven. So I know quite a bit about the Taloyoak area, but I know more about Gjoa Haven [area]. Darren: So did you ever go hunting polar bears before you were old enough to hunt them yourself? George: No. I have seen bears since I was a boy. Since then I have been seeing them for quite some time. I hadn’t seen many bears since I was a boy. When I was a teenager, that is when I started going out with my dad and that is when I started seeing bears again.

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Darren: So how old were you when you first started hunting polar bears? George: I am not sure, maybe I was about 18. 17 or 18. Darren: Where were you? George: When I first started hunting them I went down here [west side of Matty Island]. That is where I got my first bear. Darren: What kind of bear was it? George: It was not a very big bear, maybe about 8 foot [2.5 m] tall. Darren: Was it male or female? George: It was a male, I think it was. Darren: What is the term you would use for that? It wasn’t an anguruaq? George: No, what do you call this now. Maybe a tattaq. Something like tattaq. Darren: So that was your first one. And since then you were you hunting polar bears regularly? George: Yes, from then on, almost every year, we used to go down, and go shoot polar bear. Darren: In the early time when you first started were you hunting by dog team? George: No, the first time I started hunting I was by snow machine. But I have been going out with my grandfather but with dog team, that time I never hunt polar bear. I guess I was a little too young yet. But after that I hunted by dog team, guiding and for myself too. Darren: You would do it by dog team just for the fun of it? George: Yes one time I went down by dog team and shot the bear by dog team. Darren: So why did you decide to go by dog team?

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George: I don’t know. I guess the gas was a little expensive for me now, and I grew up with dog team, so know I have had my dogs for maybe 20 years—22 years now. Darren: Did you ever hear about people hunting polar bears in dens. George: Yes I have seen a couple of them shot before in the dens. Just when I started going out—it was quite a long time ago now—with my grandfather. Darren: Do you remember when that was? George: The first one was around here, right up in this area somewhere. Pretty close to Port Parry. Darren: Is it close to Nilalik? George: Yes, really close to there. Maybe about less then 10 miles from there, about west, northwest something like that. Darren: Was it a hill or river bank or…? George: No down here there are not too many hills. It was a hill, a little hill where there were a lot of snow drifts, a lot of snow, that is where it was. Darren: Were they both shot at the same time or…? George: No the first one was shot right here [mentioned above], the second one was down here, near Ujarahugjulik. I guess that little island right there, where you guys went [small island northeast of Ujarahugjulik]. Darren: Could you describe, if you remember, how it went, how they did it? George: Yes, my grandfather, first he was looking for…. Down there before we saw that bear we were down in this area [Collinson Inlet], that is where we saw dens, and then we started going further down this way [towards the point—Cape Felix] so we saw a few of them but we never saw any bears inside them. But in that one area my grandfather was not too far from me and he started using a harpoon to see if there was any polar bears in there. So he started yelling at me and telling me that there was a bear inside there, so I went over. The den was kind of down like this [sunken in]. So I started using my harpoon—because I wanted to feel how it is eh—so I used my harpoon and I started looking for it and I felt it. I guess it bit the harpoon, and it was pretty strong, and then I pulled my harpoon out

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and it was kind of bent up. From there he made a hole with a shovel. A small little hole—not very big—just enough to kill a bear I guess. I was right behind him and he was going to shoot. Just before he shot the bear was down inside the hole and the nose just went out like that—going up higher and higher. Every time you see it, it is a little bit higher, then my grandfather said ‘I am going to shoot now’ and when I saw it I guess it started coming up, and that is when he shot it. So he shot it and after that there was a lot of smoke in there, and he couldn’t see it. After that he started using his harpoon again. He felt it again, and he said ‘I don’t think it is alive now’ so he opened it right up. It [the den] was not very high—maybe a couple of feet high or something. At that time I thought they would be really big eh—the dens. But some of them might be a couple of feet high. So he dug it out of there and put a rope on it and pulled it out. Darren: What kind of bear was it? George: He wasn’t a very big bear. Maybe a tattaq or something. Darren: Male or female? George: It was a male. Darren: That is quite an experience. George: Yes. Darren: There was another one you said. George: Yes, there was another one quite a few years later. Darren: Was that with your grandfather again? George: No, my Dad. That was when my dad shot one down there. Darren: That was probably the same time that he said he saw dens there [island northeast of Ujarahugjulik]. So did he sort of do a similar thing? George: Yes, just about the same I guess. Darren: So the bear was still in the den when he shot it? George: Yes. Darren: Do you remember whether it was a male or a female? George: I am not too sure about that one. There were other bears too that we saw so… Darren: Have you seen any other dens in your travels? George: Yes I have seen some dens in this area. The Hiuraarjuaq area. And I have seen some dens right in this area. Darren: Is there an Inuktitut name for that area [Collinson Inlet]?

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George: Kangiq&unajuk Darren: And on the point [Cape Felix] and the Clarence Islands [naming areas pointed to by George on the map]? George: Yes. Darren: Any other areas? George: That is about all I know right now. Darren: You have been travelling down there for quite a few years. Have you noticed any changes? I know you probably don’t look for dens anymore, but have you noticed any changes? George: Yes, there is quite a bit of change since I started going down. There used to be a lot of icebergs right here eh. Right down to here—right down to here—down here—and up here. Darren: Larsen Sound and around the point [Cape Felix]? George: Yes, there used to big, great big icebergs. But we don’t even see them anymore, just the flat ones. Old ice I guess. Darren: Hikutuqait? George: Yes. Hikutuqaq. Ya, there used to be some high ones, but I haven’t seen one for a long time now. Darren: Do you think you could approximate when you last saw them—the big ones? George: Ah, I am not too sure when. Around the 80s I guess eh. Early 80s. That is about when we saw the last icebergs, around the 80s I think. Darren: So does that have anything to do with the bears? George: Yes it has something to do with the bears, because when we used to go down around the old icebergs that is when we used to find all these polar bear tracks. But sometimes—every year—it is not the same down here eh [north of King William Island]. Some years you see a lot of bears and some years you don’t hardly ever see them, but the next year there is a whole bunch of them around. Sometimes not much, but there is always bears down there. Darren: Do you have any idea why that is? Is there any certain conditions that they tend to be around, and if they don’t, have those conditions then they are not? George: I am not sure, I guess sometimes it depends on seals too, because I guess bears are something like humans too. If there are not animals there then they just kind of move.

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Darren: What about the dens? I know that now that you don’t hunt in dens you don’t look for them, but do you think there seem to be the same number of dens around in the same places or…? George: I don’t think so; years ago, when you were just travelling down there you could sometimes see them. There is a few around now, but not as much as there used to be I guess. Darren: When was the last time you saw any? George: Oh, that was around, about the 80s I guess. Darren: So not recently, you haven’t seen any? George: No. But not too long ago I saw one here too [Hiuraarjuaq], but it was not…if you look for some you could find all right, but we don’t even look for them anymore. I am pretty sure there is still some around. Darren: Do you remember when you first saw those dens, when you were hunting in the dens, how is the snow conditions since then? Has there been any change? George: Hum, snow conditions, I don’t think so. But it seems like nowadays it is kind of late for snow. Darren: When would you normally expect it to come? What time of the month? George: Maybe around October, but sometimes it is like there is hardly any snow. Darren: You mean recently? George: Yes. Darren: So when is it coming now? George: I am not too sure, it usually comes around October I guess— September or October. That is when it starts really snowing. Darren: So now it is coming later? George: It is still the same, but not much. I guess sometimes it blows too hard too sometimes. Darren: So there is not as much snow on the ground? George: Yes. Around March and April it seems like nowadays that is when the snow comes, around March and April. It is still snowing a little bit sometimes, even today. Darren: So you are getting more snow later now.

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George: Yes, I think so. Some years it is not the same. But it is like most of the years are like that now. You don’t get much snow in the wintertime. Darren: Could you take a guess at the year when you started noticing that? George: Yes, just like maybe around the early 90s I guess. Something like that— the 90s. Darren: Have you ever noticed when or where polar bears mate? George: They say it around maybe the end of May. Usually around May—middle of May or the end of May. Darren: You were saying that the polar bears are mostly after the seals. Is there any specific ice conditions that the seals like? George: It doesn’t really matter I guess, but sometimes it seems like in the ocean down here where there are polar bears, it seems like there’s a lot of [seal] holes where there is deeper snow, a lot of deep snow. That is where I guess they mostly find their seals, where there is a lot of snow—deep snow. Darren: Is there any certain areas where you would find a lot of seals compared to other areas. George: Yes, some areas are different. There could be a lot of seals in this area, or there could be a lot of seals right here. Anywhere around here there could be a lot of seals all right. [pointing to areas on the map] Darren: So all around the north end [of King William Island]. George: Yes. Darren: So what about Ugjuk [bearded seal]? George: Yes there are seals and Ugjuks mixed. Like seals and ugjuks all around this area [pointing to map]. Darren: So all around this area. North of Qikiqtarjuaq and around the point on the northwest side. So it doesn’t really start until here. So south of Matty Island there is not much? George: A little bit here, but not much. But from here all the way down—down here—all the way here. Darren: Gateshead Island? Up here too? George: Yes all around there. There are ugjuks all around there [continues to point out areas on the map]. Darren: [summarizing] So… would you consider Ugjulik starting…

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George: Yes we call this Ugjulik here. Darren: Do the seals seem like they are the same as ever? George: You seem to be getting as many young ones as you used to? George: Yes the seal population is like it is not even dropping or anything. There is always seals and ugjuks every time you go down. Darren: And do the polar bears seem to hunt any kind of seals? George: Yah I think so, because wherever there are pressure ridges that is where most of the times they like to hang around looking for seals. Darren: So that is where they like to hunt—pressure ridges? George: Yes and nowadays they go anywhere now. Because they are looking for seal pups. That is what—most of the time right now—that is what they are doing I guess. Darren: In June? George: Yes. They start around maybe April, May until June they start looking for seal pups. Darren: In the—what do you call that—the den or…? George: Sometimes the seal pups are up on the ice, and sometimes they sniff them out inside the den I guess. Darren: So that starts in April? George: Yes. April/May. Darren: So at that time you are saying they don’t necessarily follow the pressure ridges anymore, they just go anywhere? George: Yes, but most of the time you just find the tracks or polar bears right in the pressure ridges, but now they are almost anywhere now. Darren: So earlier before the baby seals come, are there any— besides the pressure ridges—are there any other cracks that they like? George: Oh yah. Sometimes, you can find them in—what do you call that—not really pressure ridges, but aijuraqs. Sometimes you find them in there, and in areas where it is kind of rough, that is where most of the time you find the tracks. Darren: What about the ikatlruit? George: What? Darren: Ikatlruit—reefs.

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George: What’s that? Darren: Ikatlruq. George: Ikatlruq. Okay. Yes that is where they mostly hang around too. Where there are pressure ridges or just ikatlruq. Darren: When we were in Kingiqtuarjuk, there was an ikatlruq behind it going off a ways, and your father brought us there and said that there used to be a lot of bears there. But there wasn’t much sign there. Darren: If you had to compare pressure ridges vs. aijurat vs. reefs, do they seem to hang around one more than the other. George: It depends what month it is... When I go out around the end of May I usually go look around anywhere. Anywhere down here. Just to find a track. I don’t just go to the pressure ridges, I go anywhere down there. Because in the wintertime down there, that is when they mostly hang out in the pressure ridges. Around May they just kind of walk around anywhere I guess. Darren: Out of this whole area does there seem to be to areas where you find more of a concentration of polar bears? George: Yah I think so. When I go out it seems like there is more in this area right down here [pointing on the map]. Darren: Beside Gateshead Island to the east. George: Or even down in these areas [northeast of Cape Felix]. It depends if there is anyone around, because every time when there is someone around here [northeast of Cape Felix], then they start moving down this way. Darren: So when they come—a lot of Taloyoak hunters too—they go the west side of Boothia—that pushes the bears over. George: Yes I guess so, that is why most of the time we start seeing them down here in the middle [of Larsen Sound]. Darren: So normally, if they are undisturbed would they be closer to shore? George: Yes, Yes. When there is nobody around…sometimes when there are people travelling around they get bears there [northeast of Cape Felix], but most of the time they move away from the sound I guess. Darren: Do you see. Is there any certain direction that they seem to be moving when you go up there [north of King William Island]?

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George: Yes. Sometimes they go west and east. When I go up there it seems like they go most of the time west or east. They are walking west or east. Sometimes you can see some odd ones, but most of the time it is west and east. Darren: What about current. How does the current work in this area? George: Up here I have never seen any open water. Most of the time I have only seen open water here towards Qajaqtalik. Darren: Does the ice seem to move in one direction? George: I depends on the weather I guess. Darren: How do tell the difference between a male and a female? George: Sometimes it is kind of hard when they are small. But sometimes you can find them out by their tracks. It is kind of hard to tell if it is a female or male if they are both the same size. Darren: So how do you tell by the tracks? George: Sometimes I guess the tracks…sometimes the males have a bigger foot or something then the females. But sometimes a bear has a bigger foot then the other sometimes. Darren: So when you get a polar bear what do you use it for? The different parts of it. What do you use it for? George: The polar bear skin? Most of the time I just sell my hides, but sometimes we use it for clothing. Darren: Do you have any polar bear skin clothing? George: No. Not with me no. Darren: Have you in the past? George: No I never did. Maybe soon. Darren: Would you like to? George: Oh ya. Darren: Why? George: It seems like they last a long time too eh. The skin lasts a long time. Darren: So what do you do with the meat? George: Oh we take it home and just kind of give it out to the people in the town. That is what most of the time we usually do. Darren: So who do you give it out to? Just your relatives? George: Relatives and people out there. Anybody. If we have enough we just give it out to anybody in town here.

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Darren: So you just let them know? George: Yes. Darren: By radio? George: By radio, or you can even call them. Darren: If you were to compare the different meats like muskox, seal… all the meat that you hunt, how does the polar bear rate? George: Oh it is one of the best meats I have ever had, like polar bear. It is one of the best ones, like when you first eat it it is good, but sometimes polar bear—you get sick of the meat right away after you eat it for quite a while. Not like any other meat you eat. Because I guess we don’t eat it often, more than seal or caribou or muskox, because most of the time that is what we eat eh. But polar bear it is different. If that is the only meat you have it gets kind of tiring to eat. Darren: But you think it is a great meat? George: Yeah. Oh yeah it is. Darren: So it is important to you to continue to have the opportunity to eat polar bear meat. George: Yes. Darren: What about to hunt polar bears? George: Yes if we had more tags it would be better for us to get some polar bear meat. Darren: So why do you go polar bear hunting? It seems like you do it a lot so you like it for some reason. George: I guess because that is where I was born I guess on the ocean and ever since I was a boy I have seen bears. I like eating it too that is why I go polar bear hunting all the time. Or if I can get polar bear meat from somebody, that is what I usually do. Darren: So what was it like to get your first polar bear? George: I am not too sure. It was good alright, but I am not too sure. It was a long time ago. Darren: Did your parents do anything special to celebrate? George: I don’t think so. Not really. I don’t think so. Just shot my bear and that is about all I guess. I guess they did something, but I don’t even remember. Darren: I don’t know if you have any sons, do you? George: Oh yeah I have got sons. Darren: Do you take them polar bear hunting?

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George: Three of my sons have shot their first bears now. Two of them were 8 years old and my oldest one was 11. Darren: So were they pretty excited? George: I am not sure; my oldest one must have shot about 3 now I guess. My second oldest one must have shot about 8, and my third youngest one maybe about 3 or 4. Darren: Did you do anything special when they… George: Not really no, but I usually get back and get people to eat polar bear meat and play some games I guess, that is what I usually do in town. Darren: Have you ever kept the skulls. George: I have kept a few skulls, but I don’t know how many I have right now. I have a couple of skulls. But most of the time I give them out to people that want them. Darren: So why do you keep them? George: I am not sure I just keep them. Just to have them around I guess. Darren: I think I am just about out of questions. George: I hope so. Darren: So what do you think about this moratorium? George: Hopefully it helps—helps us here in town, but we are going to have to get some polar bear tags here. Every town has polar bear tags except Gjoa Haven. Hopefully we will get some tags here. So we don’t have to go way out to other communities to hunt polar bear. Darren: You went this year eh? George: Yes, I went to Taloyoak for polar bear. That is where my son shot his bear. Darren: Do the polar bears seem different over there? George: There was tracks. They say that at this time of year they come towards the shore, so we saw tracks. Yeah we saw a lot of tracks. Darren: Does there seem to be a lot of polar bears over there? George: Yes it seems like there is a lot of bears there. Darren: Have you noticed any changes in the number of polar bears up in this area?

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George: Yeah I think so. Because years ago when we first started going down there was bears right here. Right in this area. Most of the time we would just hang around here. Darren: Between Clarence Islands and Tennent Islands. George: Yeah. We didn’t have to go all the way down here, one time, just right in this area here [between Clarence Islands and Tennent Islands]. Darren: So when did you start having go farther? George: Around late 80s, 90s I guess, we started having to go further. Darren: You told me you sometimes go towards Umingmalik and Kingailak. George: [pointing out areas he has hunted] Darren: You have been in Mclintock Channel and Peel Sound, and Victoria Strait. George: Yes that is where I have been. All this I have been… Darren: Have you been around Hiuraarjuaq too? George: Yes. Darren: Have you been there recently? George: Not too long ago. I am not too sure when. A couple of years ago now. Darren: So you are still hunting around Hiuraarjuaq, even now? George: Yes. Darren: How do the number of bears around Hiuraarjuaq compare to the number of bears down here [north of King William Island]? George: I am not sure, because most of the time it is rough here. So we don’t really go down here [Victoria Strait], we stay near the shore. But there was lots of tracks. Not as many as there used to be, but there is quite a bit there yet—polar bear tracks, even down here. Darren: Okay. Thanks. Did you have anything else you wanted to add? George: I don’t think so. Darren: I guess what I am wondering about, is people like yourself and Jerry and people like that. You are facing this moratorium, and it could go on for quite a while, you know, and you have your sons

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who you have started into polar bear hunting. What if they don’t get a chance to polar bear hunt. How do you feel about that? George: Oh, I don’t feel good about that, but we will see what happens I guess. Because every year now for so many years they have been going down with me, and every year they keep asking me if we are going to hunt polar bear. And you know if I was to do it myself, I would go down and bring them down and shoot a bear, but right now it is not the right thing to do. Darren: Why do you think it is important to Inuit to polar bear hunt? George: Well it is part of the tradition I guess. It is part of the tradition and they have been hunting for years now I guess. So it is pretty important for us to keep some tags in town. Darren: Thanks. Jerry Arqviq – June 11, 2002 (Interviewed by Darren Keith in English Darren: When and where were you born? Jerry: I was born in 1959 over in Edmonton. I had older brothers but they were not born so they had to send my mom out to Edmonton to treat. Darren: And what–miut group are you? Jerry: Nattilingmiut. Darren: And where was your family living when you first remembered? What areas were they using? Jerry: When I remembered they were north of here around Iqalulinnuaq. They told me they were around Ki’muagiaq. Around this area. Darren: So right up the west coast of Boothia too. As far as Kinngailaq? Jerry: Yes. My mother was originally from Kinngailaq, but I never really lived in that area after I was born. Darren: We should talk to your mom. The people from Kinngailaq… they were Nattilingmiut? Jerry: Yes. Darren: Did they have another name for people from that area? Jerry: Not really. Darren: Just Nattilingmiut?

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Jerry: Yes. Darren: Then when you were a teenager were you already in Gjoa Haven? Jerry: I was in Taloyoak when I was growing up. We moved to Taloyoak when I was 6 years old and we stayed there until I was 21. Darren: So when you were living in Taloyoak, were you involved in any polar bear hunting? Jerry: yes. Darren: Where did you go? Jerry: We went towards [inaudible] and towards Boothia area. Darren: So towards Ki’muagiaq? Jerry: Yes. Even when I was not polar bear hunting I was towards over here. Darren: Brantford Bay? Jerry: Yes, around the Fort Ross area. Darren: Nice up there? Jerry: Beautiful. Mountains. Tuktu,[caribou] nanuq [polar bears]. Darren: So you saw bears up there by snow machine? Jerry: Yes. Darren: Did you do all your hunting by snow machine when you were in Taloyoak? Jerry: Yes. Darren: When did you first kill a polar bear? Jerry: When I was 16 years old. My first polar bear was in Tikiraarjuaq. Darren: A point just south of Kent Bay on the west side of Boothia? Jerry: Yes. It was a little over 10 foot. My first polar bear. Darren: Were you with anyone? Jerry: Yes. Alokee and Jacob Itqiliq. Darren: So did you parents do anything to celebrate that or…? Jerry: When we brought it home to Taloyoak they gave all the meat out. Even to send some over to Gjoa Haven. We gave all the meat out and we had nothing left. Darren: Did your parents do all the giving? Jerry: Yes. Darren: So they gave out your catch? Jerry: Yes.

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Darren: And you had no meat left? You didn’t have any? Jerry: Yes. Darren: Did you keep the skin? Jerry: Yes. I sold the skin. Darren: Who did you sell it to at that time? Jerry: I can’t remember who sent it out for fur auction and I don’t remember where they sent it. Darren: That was when you got that one at Tikiraarjuaq. That was already by skidoo? Jerry: Yes. I had no skidoo then. I was on my uncle Jacob’s. And that is when I got my first snow machine. Darren: After you sold you polar bear hide? Jerry: Yes. Darren: So how did you feel when you got your first polar bear? Jerry: They were looking at me and I was wondering why they were looking at me when I first got my first bear. Every time I look at them they seemed to want to smile, so I smiled at them. I was wondering why they kept looking at me. Unusual look. It is like before that they seemed to be okay, but when I caught my bear they seemed to want to look at me all the time. Maybe they were always like that, maybe it was something I didn’t realize before. Maybe they were always looking after me or keeping an eye on me. Maybe I was looking at their faces since then. That is why I kept wanting to smile. Darren: What areas did you personally—when you go polar bear hunting—what areas would you go to—maybe we will start with when you lived in Taloyoak first. Jerry: When we were in Taloyoak we went towards Itsuaqturvik. Mostly a place called Qikiqtarjuaq. Darren: Is that it there? One of the Astronomical Society Islands? Jerry: Yes. And some towards Nallunnuaq and Turaat. Darren: That is near Thom Bay, all on the Boothia side. Jerry: Yes. Even when I was not polar bear hunting the most bears I have seen were in this area. Darren: On the east side of Boothia, Cape Alington, Abernathy Bay, or further south?

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Jerry: Probably up to there. There was always polar bear tracks towards Fort Ross, because there was open water there. Polar bear tracks are mostly around that area. Darren: Along the [ice] edge? Jerry: Yes. Darren: When you lived in Taloyoak other than that one bear you got, did you hunt much on the Ki’muagiaq side? Jerry: Not too many times I went in this area—Ki’muagiaq—The time I caught bear in the summer time I was further north at that point where I caught bear. Darren: Cape Victoria. Jerry: And there were bears around that area. Darren: Hattiumaniq? Jerry: Yes. Darren: Cape Bernard? Jerry: Aujakkut [August] there was some bears around that area, where there was ice. Maniilaqs. Darren: So there was ice still there in aujaq [summer]? Jerry: Yes. Darren: So was there open water in this area or was it frozen all summer? Jerry: There was open water but there was moving ice, old ice. When I was 17 years old I was around that area. There was moving ice. We were going by inboard boat towards Hattiumaniq. There was too much ice so we had to move towards the shore. There was some old ice at that time. It was moving old ice, big chunks of them. So we had to move towards the shore for our safety, because there was so much ice moving here. We were trying to take a shortcut. Darren: So when you were there in the winter when you were 16 and you got your first bear, was there a lot of ice bergs at that time? Jerry: My first polar bear I got it on top of the piqalujaq [translation?]. I had to shoot up. The bear was right above me. Maybe 30 feet. Darren: So this was a big iceberg. Jerry: We were following it and it was already on top of that piqalujaq. It was right on top. My uncle told me not to get too close to the piqalujaq—the place where it was on. That bear could easily

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slide [down] that hill. I didn’t know that—he was so high—I didn’t know that he could come down so quickly. I was not afraid because I was with these two other guys and I knew they would support me if the bear comes, because they were both carrying rifles. Because we were maybe 150 yards from the piqalujaq and that is when he told me to shoot it. Right on the neck. Darren: What were you using? Jerry: 30-30. Darren: So was that it? One shot? Jerry: Yes. Darren: So I guess you didn’t do any hunting in dens? Jerry: I have seen some dens, but we never really got close to the dens. Darren: Where have you seen dens? Jerry: Towards Itsuaqturvik. Darren: Thom Bay? Jerry: Yes. Thom Bay area. But I never really noticed around Qaggiujaq. They said there were dens there but I never really saw any. Darren: Cape Bernard. Jerry: Yes. Darren: But you have heard that there were dens there? Jerry: Yes. Darren: Is that Hattiumaniq? Jerry: Yes. Qaggiujaq. Hattiumaniq. Darren: Qaggiujaq. Is that Pasley Bay? Jerry: Yes. Darren: Are there any other places where you have seen dens or heard about them? Jerry: My mom told me that there was some around north of Gjoa Haven in Ujarahugjulik, Uqsuqtuup Nuvuani [Cape Felix] and Kinngailaq. And she didn’t tell me where, which side. But most places I have seen are around the Thom Bay area and Qikiqtarjuaq. Darren: Astronomical Society islands? Jerry: Yes. Darren: Do you have a sense of whether the number of polar bear dens have changed over the years?

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Jerry: No. I have no idea? Darren: What conditions are the bears looking for to make dens? Jerry: I really have no idea. I just started to hear about dens [working on this project]. Darren: Do you know anything about polar bear mating? Jerry: No. Darren: What kind of ice conditions are good for nattiit [ringed seals]? Jerry: I don’t really know but what I heard was around old ice and new ice. The old ice that never melts, hardly ever melts before, close to that area. And qugluniqs [????}and atuarut [translation?] and around the islands where there are atuarut. That is mostly what I heard about where the seals can be in the wintertime. Darren: Is there any place in your knowledge in this area, around King Wiliam Island and Larsen Sound, is there any area that has more concentrations of seals? Jerry: I was around Ugjulik in the summer time on my holidays around that area. Towards Atanikittuq there is lots of seals. And every time we go towards Gjoa Haven there is usually lots of seals. And around, in the spring time, towards Ujarahugjulik. Between Ujarahugjulik and Qikiqtarjuaq, there are lots of seals around that area. In angmaruq [open cracks in the ice in the spring], there are lots and lots of seals, just like a long island around that area. Darren: And what about bearded seals? Are there any areas where you are more likely to find bearded seals? Where they tend to concentrate? Jerry: The most I know is around Hat Island. There are lots of ugjuks around that area. Darren: Ugjulik? Jerry: Yes around Ugjulik. On the north side of O’Reilly Island. I have seen lots of ugjuks around there. That is the most I have seen ugjuks, in summer time and spring time. And when I was younger, around Qikiqtarjuaq [Astronomical Society Islands] on the Taloyoak side I have seen lots of ugjuks. Darren: In your experience of hunting seals over the years has there been any change in the number of young seals you are getting compared to old seals.

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Jerry: There seems to be a lot of seals lately, but before when I was younger I didn’t really seal hunt, because we were on the Taloyoak side. Towards Gjoa Haven I am not really sure the difference between the old days and today as far as seal changes. We spent a summer towards Ugjulik one time with my family. In July and June there are lots and lots of seals around Ugjulik. You can even walk up to them and they won’t go down, because there was so many. Darren: What type of ice conditions are polar bears looking for when they are hunting seals? Jerry: I am not sure, but I know that they are looking for where there is mostly seals that are easy to get at. I know every time we go polar bear hunting they seem to be around quglungniqs. They seem to look for easy quglungniqs, so they can hunt around it. Or I know they are looking for mostly around where there is seals. I am not sure what ice conditions they are looking for. Darren: Around quglungniqs. Jerry: And aijuraqs. Darren: Are there certain areas where you have polar bear hunted where you can always count on finding quglungniit? Jerry: That time when we were trapping towards Tikiraarjuaq. From Tikiraarjuaq that is when we started seeing bears and quglungniit going towards Ujarahugjulik. At that time I was wondering where the quglugniq goes, because I didn’t know the Gjoa Haven area. Anywhere between Uplutuuq and Tikiraarjuaq the polar bear tracks seem to be easy to spot around that area, at that time—1984. Jerry: 1976. Around 1976/77. Darren: Were there icebergs at that time? Jerry: Yes. Darren: What about in 84? Jerry: Around 84, that is when I started to notice that there were less ice bergs. That first time we always saw icebergs between Uplutuuq and Boothia. But later I started noticing that there were lower piqalujaqs—smaller. But I didn’t realize that they were going to go away. I thought that they were going to be there all the time. Darren: When was the first time that you noticed that there wasn’t any?

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Jerry: Just recently in the late 1990s. When me and Ben went polar bear hunting Uqsuuqtuuq Nuvuanut [to Cape Felix] on the north side. He told me that these piqalujaqs are really small now. That is when I noticed. Darren: So would they be considered piqalujaqs at that time? Jerry: He said that they were piqalujaqs but they were really low. Darren: What is the difference between hikutuqaq and piqalujaqs? Jerry: I don’t really know. Darren: But piqalujaqs are hikutuqaqs, just higher right? Jerry: Yes, that is the way I see it. Darren: Do the polar bears seem to favour one kind of crack over another? Do you tend to see them more around aijuraq or quglungniq or….? Jerry: When they are not too high—quglungniqs—they seem to want to be around that area when there is not too much snow, and kind of open thin ice. That is where they seem to be around. Darren: Have you ever seen a polar bear hunting seals? Jerry: Yes. Darren: Can you tell me about it? Jerry: Over in Tikiraarjuaq when we were trapping. One of the guys wanted to go seal hunting on the north side of Tikiraarjuaq, so we went down there after we checked our traps. We went to that point and I guess he was looking for something with his binoculars on top of the piqalujaq. He was looking down towards Ujarahugjulik and he said someone is already seal hunting ahead of us. I said I thought there was people around that area. He said ‘there is three polar bears down there seal hunting.’ I expected people because he told me there was somebody already. So he told me to see in his binoculars. I started looking through the binoculars, and two big bears and one kind of small bear. One was already in the seal hole, he seemed to be sitting or kind of low. And there was another one not too far from him, it was like he was getting something ready. And I told Alokee that the other one is digging. And he told me he was not digging but that he was making aglu [seal breathing hole]. At that time I was wondering how could they make aglu they are animals. Darren: What is the term for that ‘making aglu’ in Inuktitut?

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Jerry: Agluliuqtuq. Darren: So that is preparing the hole? Jerry: Yes. And we watched them for a while. And the smallest one was walking further down. Following the aijuraq or the quglungniq, and the other two were waiting. I don’t know if they were males or females at that time. Darren: But they weren’t a mother and cubs? Jerry: No. One looked kind of small but he didn’t tell me it was namiariit, he just told me they were mauqhuk(ing) [hunting seals at their breathing hole]. We had to go somewhere else. Darren: Because that place was already taken? Jerry: Yes. Darren: Before you got involved with this project, when you heard all those terms for the different ages and sex, did you know that? Jerry: I only knew some, but I didn’t know all the bears age and what were they. All I heard was tattaq and anguruaq. Darren: What was a tattaq? Jerry: At that time I didn’t know what was tattaq. All I heard was tattaq and anguruaq. Darren: So you knew what an anguruaq was, because that was what you were after. Jerry: Yes. Namiaqs, I didn’t know what age were they or how big were they. All the others, I didn’t know them before. The most I heard was tadzaq and anguruaq. Darren: You know it is interesting, from talking to people around your generation and even older people, there seems to be very few people that have all that straight. Basically only George and Bob that I have met so far. Is that fair to say or do you think I’m wrong? Jerry: No. Darren: Do you know anything about how the bears move over the year? Jerry: No, I don’t really have a clue. Darren: Have you heard? Jerry: Just recently when I started focusing on polar bear. At that time I was mostly around this area, there were lots of polar bears in Itsuaqturvik, and that time we go here [northeast of King William Island] we seemed to see less than at Itsuaqturvik. But I never really

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go further than Qadgiuraq. I have only gone as far as north of Ujarahugjulik, maybe 20 miles north. Darren: Do you think that the polar bears you hunted over on the Boothia side are the same as the ones on the King William Island side, do they move back and forth? Jerry: I am not sure from that area moving to this side, but maybe they go north of Boothia. Darren: Through the Fort Ross area? Jerry: Yes, because I have seen polar bears in this area when I was out on snowmobile—between Kinngailaq and Boothia. There was lots of polar bears in Auviqtunnuaq [Wrottesley Inlet]. Darren: So you already talked about your seeing changes in the amount of icebergs. Have you seen any other changes in the ice conditions north of King William Island or in Ugjulik? Jerry: Last year in the summertime I was down towards O’Reilly Island, and before that there was lots of ice there all the time, and there was no ice. We didn’t see any ice when we got there that time. Darren: In the summer? July or August? Jerry: August. Darren: So there was always ice floating around? Jerry: Yes. There seemed to be ice floating around towards O’Reilly and Hat Island/Putulik. Darren: So when was the last time you were there and you saw ice floating around? Jerry: Early 90s. Darren: Did you go there every year after that? Jerry: No. I hardly go...we had a camp in Tikiraarjuaq. Darren: South of Atanikittuq? Jerry: Right at Atanikittuq. When we tried to go back there was ice moving back and forth so we had to wait for the ice to go away a little bit. Darren: So there was some ice? Jerry: Yes. Darren: But not out in the open water. Just out in those islands north of O’Reilly? Jerry: es, but they were not big, they were small. Darren: Smaller than in the early 90s?

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Jerry: Yes. Darren: What about ice freeze-up. Did you notice any difference from when you were a teenager to recently? Jerry: Not really I didn’t really look out for freeze-ups at that time. Darren: And break-ups? Jerry: And break-ups. Darren: What about the lakes—freeze-up and break-up? Have you noticed? Jerry: Most times right now when we go put nets out in the lakes, we seem to go later than the older days. It seems to be warmer in the fall time. So it seems to be freezing up later than in the older days. Darren: So when does it freeze up now? Jerry: Middle of October. But it seems to be kind of late. Darren: And when did it used to freeze-up. Jerry: It is like it used to always freeze up in September—the lakes. And we used to always go across on the long weekend in November. And now we go later than the long weekend. Darren: On the sea ice across Simpson Strait? Jerry: Yes. Darren: So now it is later than the long weekend? Jerry: Yes. Darren: And it is interesting that—I think it was George Kamookak who said that in the distant past they used to go even earlier when the trapping season would open, it was November 1st, the sea ice was always safe. Darren: How do you tell the difference between a male and female polar bear? Jerry: I can’t even tell the difference between a male and female polar bear, until the last time we went someone told me about the condition of the polar bears. The shape of the feet or the shape of the animal. That is when I really started noticing if it is a female or male. Before that I didn’t even know the difference. Darren: When you hunt polar bear ...could you just take me through how you do it. If you went out this year for your own personal polar bear hunting, how does it happen? How does it work? Jerry: When I go polar bear hunting, my father used to always tell me to go with someone. Go with another snow machine or take

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somebody on your sled. But he never used to tell me why. And, he said, ‘have your pana [snow knife] with you or your gun with you at all times, even if you go for a short walk.’ That is what he used to always tell me. Or, watch the person you are going with at most times. He said ‘the bears are hard to see if you don’t keep your attention at what you are doing.’ I finally started noticing that we need to be prepared for something, mostly when we are around the polar bear area. Even now when we are on the land, people see polar bear tracks in unusual places. Now, some of us are starting to notice that we need to be prepared at all times. Darren: Is that a change? Jerry: No. Darren: It has always been like that? Jerry: It has always been like that but some of us didn’t realize. Darren: So when you go out by snow machine...I have heard how you hunt with dog team and how you hunt in dens, but when you just have a snow machine, how do you catch a bear? Jerry: If we were to catch our bear right now. When we see the bear, we see where it is going. If there is rough areas, we see if it is going towards rough areas, and we try to catch it right away before it goes to the maniilaqs. Darren: So you just use the speed of the snowmobile? Jerry: Yes. Darren: Are the bears usually overheated by the time you shoot them? Jerry: I didn’t notice that, but yeah when they are around the maniilaqs they seem to warm up faster. You see lots of pujuq [water vapour] around them. Darren: So when you get up to them—or do you ever shoot them when they are still running away or are they already standing around? Jerry: The ones I shoot, I usually go ahead of them and they are standing already. Somebody tried to tell me to try and catch them right away. I was wondering why I had to catch them right away, and don’t let them run for a long time. I was wondering why they were saying try to catch it right away. One of the polar bear hunters I used to go with was named Jacob Itqiliq—my uncle – he is gone now. He

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used to tell me that when I first caught my bear, don’t let the polar bear run for long. Try to catch it right away. But he didn’t tell me why. And I started noticing later, when you catch it earlier it tastes better. It is not so tired. That is when I started noticing that you have to kill them right away. Darren: Were you told a certain place to shoot them? Jerry: My uncle used to tell me try not to make too many holes on a bear skin. Try to kill it right away. Maybe that is the other reason why he wanted us to kill it right away. Try not to make too many holes. He said anywhere on the neck, or if you can shoot it on the heart area, shoot it on there. Darren: So what do you use the skin for? Jerry: My polar bears, I sold all my bears. When I take them home I would bring them either to the renewable resource office—just get them to send it out—or to the Northern [Store]. Darren: Have you ever seen anyone with polar bear clothing? Jerry: Yes. I have seen polar bear pants, polar bear mitts and polar bear kamiks [boots]. Darren: Would you like to have some? Jerry: Yes. Darren: How come? Jerry: They told me that they are warm and the fur last long. The fur last longer than caribou, and they are warm. I have an uncle from Taloyoak, he has polar bear pants right now and he can’t leave without them. I don’t mind to have one of those that I could keep all the time. Darren: So when you get polar bear meat how do you share it around? Jerry: My polar bear meats. When I get them home, we just call on radio or CB ‘if anyone wants polar bear meat, come and get some.’ We just cut it up and just get people to help themselves for what they want. That is how we give our meat away. Darren: What about the person you go with? Jerry: The person I go with, the last one I went with was Ben Putuguq. He was the first one to catch a bear and he gave me a hind leg. When I catch my bear, I gave him a hind leg. Darren: Is that usual?

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Jerry: The ones we used to hear, yes. That is the way we have to do it. Darren: So you gave him the hind leg because of tradition? Jerry: Yes. Darren: So what do you call it? Jerry: Ningiqtuq. Darren: So it continues. Jerry: Yes. Darren: How do you eat polar bear meat? How is it prepared? Jerry: I could have it rough, frozen rough, and cooked. And I never really had fresh, but I had some quaq [frozen raw] and cooked. Darren: So if you compare it to all the other wildlife you kill and eat, how does polar bear rate for you? Jerry: I kind of like all the meats. I will just put polar bear... I like the polar bear meat. When I was younger, I was told when you catch a bear take the liver out right away, even before you cut it. Just cut the stomach open and take the liver out right away, and you can always skin it after. Polar bear meat, you have to take the liver out right away, because they say that it spoils the meat and spoils the fur. That is how I do my polar bear. Darren: Would you eat polar bear meat every day if you could? Jerry: I wouldn’t really eat polar bear meat every day, but I like to have them from time to time. Early. Because when we get polar bear meat, every time someone gets polar bear meat it seems to be not enough. Darren: You mean when it is shared out? Jerry: Yes. Darren: How long does it last? Jerry: When we give our polar bear meat out, it don’t last long. Darren: Because you eat it. Jerry: Yes. Darren: So do you think it is important that you continue to be able to eat polar bear meat? Jerry: Yes. Darren: Can’t live without it? Jerry: Can’t live without polar bear meat.

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Darren: Why do you think Inuit need to continue to eat polar bear meat? Jerry: I guess they are used to eating polar bear meat and it is their traditional food, and I know a lot of people that like to eat different kinds of meat all the time, and polar bear is one of their favourite meals. Darren: What about polar bear hunting. You go polar bear hunting. Why is it important to you to go polar bear hunting? Jerry: Thinking of our Elders that want meat. When we are going to go polar bear hunting. When they know that you are going to go polar bear hunting, they seem to want to let you know ‘catch a polar bear.’ They seem to want to tell you that all the time ‘catch a polar bear,’ ‘I hope you catch a polar bear.’ They seem to not care who catches a polar bear, as long as someone catches a polar bear. They know that they are going to get the meat. I don’t know why they like the polar bear meat so much, they seem to want to tell you to catch a polar bear. Darren: Have you ever heard of the...or have you ever kept the skull of a polar bear? Jerry: All the polar bears I got, I never kept any one of them. Darren: Have you heard of that? Jerry: Yes. Darren: Why do people do that? Jerry: They say it is their first catch and they like to keep it around the house. I don’t really know why they keep their skull. Darren: Are there any traditional beliefs about polar bears that you would like to share? for instance... Jerry: Yes when I was finally noticing that I was eating polar bear as a kid, they told me ‘use a knife.’ But I didn’t want to use a knife. One old guy told me that ‘you have to use a knife...you are going to want to hunt some day.’ I didn’t care at that time. Why do I have to use a knife. Now I notice that when I see polar bears, the polar bears don’t even want to look at me. They don’t seem to care for me. I know some other people that get maliktaujuq by polar bear. Darren: What does that mean?

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Jerry: Get chased. Nobody ever used to tell me why they get chased. One old guy used to tell me, if you don’t use knife, polar bear, muskox or wolf is going to chase you. Darren: So for all those animals you have to use knife? Jerry: Mostly for polar bear. I don’t know why he said wolf. Now I noticed there can be a pack of wolves that can chase you. All those things we have to know. Use a knife on polar bear, don’t eat it with your teeth. Darren: Have you noticed any difference in snow conditions over the years? Jerry: Not really but the drift directions, they seem to be kind of switched from the older days. I used to travel by the drifts when I was younger and these couple old guys used to always tell me... one old guy wanted me to go from Taloyoak to Gjoa Haven where there is no trails, and he was telling me the snow drift directions. Darren: So how were they back then? Jerry: They were north/south. Straight north/south. Darren: How old were you then? Jerry: I think I was 14. That was when I was first told to go alone from Taloyoak to Gjoa Haven to go pick up somebody. There was some trails, but he told me I have to learn where they usually go by in the old days by dog team. So he talked to me about the snow drifts, and I followed the snow drifts and the places I was going to get to, they seemed to be the right ones, so I kept going and going, and when I got to Avvaq, he told me to follow the trails and so I was following the trails and I got to Gjoa Haven. Darren: So how has the orientation of the snowdrifts changed? Jerry: I am not really sure, but there seem to be hardly any snow drifts, or they seem to be hard to tell where they are going. They seem to be changing different directions then in the older days when I used to follow them. They seem to be more this way. Darren: East/west? Jerry: Yes. Most time there seems to be all kinds of snowdrifts. Darren: Any directions? Jerry. Yes. Darren: So how has the wind changed?

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Jerry: I don’t really know, but when it was...when we used to always go towards Tikiraarjuaq, it seemed to be the same direction most times, and the blowing snow. But right now it seems to be coming from different areas. Darren: Back when you were going towards Tikiraarjuaq it was coming from the north, making those drifts? Jerry: It seemed to be easy to spot those snow drifts, and they seemed to be easy to follow. But right now when we try to follow the snowdrifts after so many distance there is a different one already. Darren: Good. Jerry: Namaktuq [it’s ok]. Darren: Anything that we missed. Jerry: Not really, but I have seen polar bears near maniilaqs. They don’t care how rough the ice is. They can easily get on top of the ice or go through rough areas. They are really fast on the rough ice because the rough ice seems to be easy to go through for them. Even when they are underwater. If you look at them underwater when they are swimming [on the surface], but when they go underwater they are faster, and when they want to go on top of the ice they are on top of the ice, even before you notice. You have to keep an eye out when you are close to a polar bear in the summer time, if you are on the ice or on the land, if you see a polar bear on the water, they seem to be a very slow swimmer. Once they dive and they want to go on top of the ice they are there in seconds. I got my experience on that on a polar bear in summer time. I didn’t think a polar bear could get on top of the ice so quickly. So I started noticing you have got to watch, even in summer time, even when I am on the boat. I have got to keep a distance from the animal. If a polar bear wants to go inside your boat, they can go inside your boat right away. And if the polar bear happens to go to your camp while you are sleeping, just don’t panic. Just do what you have to do and don’t panic. Just watch the animal. Darren: So when you are in an area that has polar bears, how do you stay prepared? Jerry: Remember where is your knife—your pana—and remember where is your rifle and keep a bullet in your clip, at least one or two.

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Not in the barrel just in the clip. And make sure you know where is your rifle. Keep a pana with you all the time when you go for a walk.

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Annie Arquviq—June 11, 2002 (Interviewed by Darren Keith and Jerry Arqviq) Jerry: When you were in Kinngailaq, you used to see polar bears; she wants you to tell a story about that for the first story. Annie: I grew up in the Kinngailaq area, on Boothia and Kinngailaq. I was adopted to my parents and we were only three. And we would stay at our camp and move around, because we were only three. We used to move around down there quite a bit. There was all kinds of animals around Kinngailaq, polar bears, seals, narwhals, fish, foxes, rabbits. In the wintertime we would hunt seals and trap for fox and most times, every time we would go out we would see a polar bear. We would catch some of them whenever we wanted to, and leave some of them. At that time there were lots of polar bears and they were fat, and even the caribou were fat around that area. I noticed that there were lots of polar bears around that area at that time. I am not sure how many there are now, I haven’t been there for a long time. I don’t mind seeing a polar bear because I like polar bears, I used to play with the cubs, just born cubs. My father would bring live cubs home and I would play with the bear. I didn’t realize how they went away, or if they were killed or not. I used to wonder how they would go because I had no one to play with. That is why I like to see polar bears. Even now even if I was not going to catch it I would like to see one. And I like the meat. I have seen all kinds of animals around Kinngailaq. We used to hunt seals. And in the spring time when we were going towards the land to go fishing, we would see bears, and some of them are caught or stuck in the seal hole. Because they were seal hunting and the heads got stuck in the seal hole. I have seen bears like that. Darren: Is Kinngailaq where you first started to remember when you were a little girl or were they somewhere before? Annie: I was mostly around that area when I grew up. Darren: Did you ever see polar bears get killed when you were little in that area? Annie: I know but I don’t remember.

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Darren: How were they hunting them, in the den? Annie: I remember that some of them were in dens and some of them were not in dens. Darren: Would they get polar bear every year? Annie: Around that Kinngailaq area we would get bears every year. Darren: Could you describe how they used to hunt in the den? Annie: Denning areas would be in high hills or riverbanks. Where there is snow drifts there used to be dens. Even if it was not open we would find the denning area because of the snow pile [from digging]. Even every year we would go polar bear hunt at the dens. We would hunt them every year. They used to tell us not to polar bear hunt right after the moon or just when the moon is up [when it is bright]. The reason why they shouldn’t den hunt right after the moon or just before the moon, is because the polar bears go higher in their dens. Right after the moon we know that the polar bear has gone higher. They used to tell us not to polar bear hunt right after the moon because the polar bear would go up in his den and top would be really thin. That is why we shouldn’t den hunt then. Darren: Is it that whole period, just before to just after, that whole time? Jerry: Yes. Annie: When we finally den hunt between when there was no moon, we would know because of that adgarniq [digging pile]. We would find the den with the harpoon. When they are den hunting and they find a bear in the den you make a small hole just enough for the head to come out. You have a hunting spear called iputuruq [bear hunting spear]. We would use that when we had no rifle. Darren: How was that made? Jerry: She said it was made with a stick handle and a bonehead. Annie: Sometimes there would be more than one in the den. After you catch the first one then you check to make sure there is not another one with the harpoon. If there is another one we would wait for the head to pop out and do the same thing to kill it. That is how we used to hunt polar bears in dens. Darren: I forgot to ask. Do you know when you were born and where?

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Annie: I only remember that someone told me that I was born in August and I don’t know the day. I was born in Kinngailaq. Darren: At that time you were using the iputuruq? Annie: Even my dad was using those at that time. Darren: Did you have rifles? Annie: Even when we had rifles we would use iputuruq as that was our traditional way. Even when there was teapots, my mom was still using skins for qattaq [a bucket]. Darren: Do you remember how they used to hunt them if they weren’t in the dens? Annie: Yes I remember. It is different den hunting versus hunting in an open area. It is a different way of hunting bears. We would spot a bear when we would be travelling or hunting. There is another way of hunting bears. Even when we were not trying to polar bear hunt, when we were travelling with the dogteam, if we came across polar bear tracks, we would follow the bear. Even if its hard to track on a hard surface, even if you can’t see the polar bear tracks, if it is kind of fresh the dogs would know the track, even if you can’t see the bear track the dogs would follow. Even if you can’t see the track, since the dogs were trained to hunt animals, even if it was not a bear but something else, if they can’t see the animal they would follow the tracks [by scent]. If we were tracking a bear, or we spotted a bear and were tracking it, if the hunter was in a rush they would just cut the ropes of the dog team. If he was not in a rush he would take the harnesses off. If he could not catch up to the bear with the dog team, then he would cut the ropes, that is the only way he could catch up to the bear. Even if it is just one dog, if he is used to polar bears he can stop a bear, or if he can’t he will need the help of another dog. Even if there is lots of dogs he won’t stop. If the dogs get in front of him he won’t stop, but if the dogs stay behind him he will stop. If the dogs get ahead of him he won’t stop. The dogs catch up to the bear and the hunter finally catches up and then they would hunt with the iputuruq and sometimes they would spot a bear even when they were not trying to polar bear hunt. If they left their hunting spear [iputuruq] then they would use a harpoon [unaaq] or even if they don’t have a harpoon they would

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use a snow knife tied on to a stick for a handle. By spearing the bear, that is how they used to kill it. Darren: Is that even in your father’s time that they used to use the spear? Annie: Yes, I have seen him use it. Even long ago or right now people say to me that my dad was a great hunter, because there were hardly any camps there or stores, but he would have meat all the time all winter. That is why people now and long ago used to say that my dad was a great hunter. Is that understandable? Darren: Oh yes. Annie: The ones I have seen are really true, but for the people who have never seen these things they might not look true. Darren: It is quite amazing really. Annie: Yes. Darren: Did your dad ever get swatted by a bear? Annie: I have never seen or hear of him getting so close to a bear. But he has been really close to a bear, he had been worked on in the traditional way. When he was newborn he was worked on. His parents said to him how he should hunt. Darren: Did he have anguat [amulets]? Annie: I didn’t notice if he had one when he was a kid. But the time that I was with him he didn’t have any. Long ago he might have had them. Darren: Did they do anything special to prepare someone to deal with polar bears? Annie: I have heard of that but I am not sure how I could describe it. I have heard people work something on their kids or talk to their kids when someone else is listening. They used to say ‘he can’t be chased by a bear or be bit by a bear or be chased by a muskox’ or any dangerous animal. I heard of these things, but I never really saw it or worked on anybody. Darren: Are there any other beliefs around things that you have to do or not do related to polar bears, such as using a knife? Are there other things like that? Annie: That is not Nattilingmiut tradition, it might of been from the Kiillinirmiut area. I have never heard of Nattilingmiut saying you can use a knife on polar bears. I only noticed they get worked on and

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they put anguat on so that they won’t get chased when they grow up. And for girls they put anguat so that the bear won’t come into their iglu. Darren: What is the term for working on someone? Annie: With children? Piguhiqtuq. Darren: That is to work on a child? Jerry: Yes. Darren: Have you seen anyone keep polar bear skulls? Annie: I don’t know why they did. Darren: What would you use different parts of the polar bear for. Jerry: [asks about what the bones were used for] Annie: We used a lot of bones when they were hard. Any kind of bones. Polar bears, muskox, caribou. Polar bear bones were used as long as they were hard. They used the hind legs top and bottom [bones]. They would be used for fish called qupqaut and for plugging the wounds of seals called tuputaq. We tried to save the blood on seals so the wound was plugged. The tuputaq were small. We made them as a tool just like a needles, we put a little ball on the end so they wouldn’t go through. On the bottom leg, that small thin bone in the back called amillraq were used for fork in cooking boiling meat. Some other bones were used for other things. We used the teeth for fishing. It is called iqaluuraq. Darren: Is it a lure? Jerry: Yes. Darren: That is the one without a hook? Jerry: Yes. Annie: The jaws [agliruq] of the polar bear were used for scraping skins. Darren: What were the scrapers called? Jerry: Tahijuut. Annie: They probably used them for other things too but those are the ones I know. Darren: What did you use the skin for long ago? Annie: We would use the skin as a mattress [atliniq], mitts, and pants. Darren: What about a qulittaq [parka?]?

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Annie: We didn’t use them for qulittaq. We would use them for icing our sleds. A small piece. We would use them as sled. A full skin would be used as a sled. Load it up with all our gear and tie it up. It is called qimuqtitaut. We would use them to take off lice. You would use a thin stick and tie a strip of polar bear skin on the end. You would stick this in your jacket and in your socks to pick up lice. It was called a kumakhiut. We even used to use them for seal hunting when we were crawling up to seal. They would slide on a polar bear skin. Darren: What was that called? Annie: It had a name but I can’t remember the name. Darren: And crawling up to seal is called auktuq? Yes. Crawling up to seal is called auktuq. Annie: There was a name for that piece of skin, but I can’t remember the name. Darren: Would it be the whole skin or just a piece? Jerry: Just a piece. Annie: We used to use those bones and skin a lot. We even used to hunt bears with a bear bone. Darren: For the tip of the iputuruq? Jerry: Yes. Darren: What bone was that? Annie: Mostly hind leg bones [quqtiraq and atiraq]. Or aqsatquit [upper forearm bone]. Darren: Would you be able to point out on the map where all the dens were on Kinngailaq? Annie: It has been a long time, so I can’t remember. It was mostly on high areas. Darren: Do you know all the names of the different ages of polar bears. Annie: I only remember some. Only a few. Darren: What are they when they are newborn? Annie: I only remember nanuaq. There may be another name for it. I can’t remember all the names. Darren: If you thought of all the other kind of animals you eat. How would you rate polar meat?

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Annie: Of all the different types of animals I eat, I like them all and they all taste different. I also like polar bear meat and when they said we can’t catch polar bear in Gjoa Haven any more in my mind I said why do you have to stop polar bear hunting. In my mind I said I am not going to have polar bear for a long time. Even the bears can taste different. I like the den polar bears instead of a bear caught in the open. I find the den polar bears taste better than those caught outside. Darren: It sounds like you were on your own a lot but do you remember how people used to share polar bear? Annie: They used to share their meat a lot in the old days when we were hunting by dog team. If there was more than one person chasing the polar bear. Whoever is behind the one that is ahead is hoping that the first one catch a bear. They know that they are going to get some meat from the person who is going to catch the bear. Even if you can’t see the person running ahead of you, you still follow his track, because you know that you are going to get something. Annie: The two people that are running ahead, they would both get hind legs. The people that were behind them would get the smaller pieces of meat. They would run and try to get there ahead of each other. Annie: The first one that caught up to the successful hunter would get a hind leg. That is what they used to do with the bigger animals. Long ago they used to even cut up the skin if the people that were running after wanted some skin. They would cut up the skin and give it out. Darren: What is that called when you divide up the bear? Annie: Even ugjuks [bearded seal] are divided up like this. When someone catches an ugjuk they would run to that person who caught the ugjuk. They watch out for each other when they are seal hunting [mauqhuktut] for ugjuk. The person that would catch the ugjuk would wave his hand and the one that would see him first would start running. They race to the person with the ugjuk, because they know they are going to get a bigger piece if they get there first. The first one that gets to that person would get almost

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the whole half, right from the shoulder to the flipper. We would call this kuinaqtuq. Darren: What is that? Jerry: That is the biggest piece from the shoulder to the flipper. Annie: Kuinaqtuq is the person who gets there first. Everyone else that gets there after gets a share but they get a smaller piece. They all would get strips of the skin when they cut up the skin for ropes. Everyone always got a share. That is how they used to share their animals. Darren: What was that called? Annie: Ningiqtut. Darren: To people still do that? Annie: They still give out meat [but its different than] it used to be in the old days. The older guys used to divide them nicely giving the fat, skin, meat. Nowadays people just take what they take and they just divide them anyway. We used to divide the ringed seals, right now they don’t divide the seals like they used to do. Even with seals, when they gave them out, the person that caught the seal would have nothing left. Darren: What were the names of those parts? Annie: When they opened the seal they would watch how they cut even the fat (uqsuq). The fat on the seal, when they take the fat off right from the shoulder to the rear flipper, it is called naa. I am only going to talk about the fat first. The side from the shoulder to the rear flipper are called avat. The head fat from the neck up is called kinaruq. The back fat was cut in the same size strips from the head down. They cut them in small strips called kittak. Now the meat. The sides (ribs) is called haniraq. A small strip of meat only from where the haniraq was from, it is called hanirairnaq. It has no bones and it is called hanirairnaq. That is what the kids have. They would keep it in their mouth and bring it back to their iglu. The mother takes the meat and she would put it over the qulliq and share it with everyone. The long ribs from the back with the fore flipper—the left is called taunungaituq. The other half, the right side, if you cut it in half it is called aqsatquliq. You do the same thing but you cut it in half between the ribs. If you cut the back bone in half with the neck the top half is called qunguhiq. The bottom half with four ribs is called

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kujaq. The part with the back flippers and the bum is called ukpat. Because they divide the fat and the meat, when they give it out to the people they have to get the same side of meat and fat. The ones in the front, they have to have strips of fat. In the neck area they still get the small strips of fat. The people that didn’t catch a seal would get certain areas of meat and fat. The aqsatquliq would have the avat fat. The kujaq would have avat fat. The taunungaittuq would get the naa fat. The ukpat would get the other half of naa fat. The person who caught the seal would only get the head and the guts and the fat for the head. That is the tradition. We would use the skin also for clothing—parka, pants, boots, mitts. You could use the skin for anything, any type of clothing, with the fur or without. Darren: Who would get the skin? Annie: The hunter. Annie: Even if someone don’t catch seal for a long time, if the hunter wants to help a person out they could give them the skin to help them out. They tried their best to help each other in the old days, even now we try to help each other as much as we can, it was the same in the old days. Darren: Before they cut up the seal do you remember people doing that thing where they give the seal fresh water? Annie: I know about that. Seal fat was the only heat in the past and they had to treat their tradition in the right way. Even the ladies, if they learned how to hunt, they would go seal hunting. They had to keep their traditions alive at that time, as that was the only way they kept their heat. The first person that caught a seal, the people would gather around the seal. The person that is going to cut the seal is going to cut out the liver. The person that caught the seal has to cut his seal for the liver and kidney and fat and cut it up evenly so everyone else can have some. When they gathered together to the person that caught the ringed seal—the hunters—they called them katimaruq—meeting. When they gather together they are not discussing anything, but when they finish the liver, kidney and fat they would have some blood. When they finish eating and they have frozen blood on the snow, they would scrape that and spread that cut up blood all around. That means that next year they want to make sure they have more seals. The hole they made in the

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stomach [abdomen] would be plugged with a small peice of ice, so that the blood and guts won’t go out and it is called nilaq. The reason they plug them is so they won’t bleed all over—the wound and the stomach [abdomen]. They would take it home that way with the dog pulling it. The person that caught the seal gets home and puts the seal into the doorway. The woman pulls the seal in and this is called nuhuktaa. When the lady pulls it in she gives the seal water. The reason for that is so the people keep catching the seal so the camp won’t be hungry. Not only seal were treated that way. Even fish were treated that way. Darren: How would they treat fish? Annie: They used to treat fish with burned leaves. They would just kind of wipe it on their heads. It was because they didn’t want to go hungry. We had no income, nothing else coming in besides animals. That was the only thing they were eating. That’s what they used to do. Annie: Any more questions? Darren: Only one. When you caught seals or fish there were certain things that you had to do. What about when you caught a polar bear? Annie: We might have but I don’t remember. Jerry: Do you have anything else to add? Annie: I have more stories to tell if someone asks me more questions, but I am tired of talking right now. I have nothing more about what we are talking about now. Mary and Elijah Takkiruq [mother and son]—June 10, 2002 (Interviewed by Darren Keith and Jerry Arqviq) Mary: We used to hunt polar bears before there were snowmobiles by dog team. If we would see a bear running we would take our dogs out of their harness and they would even cut the ropes off. The men would run. That is how they used to hunt before rifles and snowmobiles. They used a spear with a name different than a harpoon. It was called a nauligaut. They had to make sure that they hit it right and not to get too many wounds, because we didn’t have snowmobiles and we didn’t want it to go too far when it was wounded. And when it was killed they would try to skin it right away

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and take the liver out. Because I heard that the liver can easily take the fur off the polar bear skin if it stays in too long, because the bear liver is too strong. When they finished cutting the bear they would divide the meat to the people. The first one would get a hind leg and the second one would also get meat. They would divide the meat to the people. It is called ningiquq. Mary: Ningiq is for a polar bear or a big animal. It means giving out the meat. Darren: Could you tell me again how it worked. Was there an order to it? Mary: Yes. The first one was given a mimiq—hind leg. And the second person would give them whatever they want. Because the first one helped the catcher he was given the best part of the meat. Darren: So that was the way it was then. Since people moved into Gjoa Haven, is it still done the same way or is it changed? Mary: They still do this even when there are rifles now. They still give out meat to a person they hunt with. And they come to town and give out the meat. When they get to the town of Gjoa Haven if there is left overs from the hunt they still give it out. The person that caught the polar bear asks people to come and get meat. Darren: How do you rate polar bear meat compared to other meats? Do you think of it being better than all those things or where does it fit? Mary: It is one of our favourite meat—polar bear. We ate polar bear when we were raised. Even frozen meat or cooked. I have not heard of anyone eating fresh—non-frozen meat. It is very good frozen and cooked. It is one of my favourite meats. If I could eat it every day I couldn’t see it stop coming. Almost the whole polar bear is good, even the paws. Darren: What is the best part? Mary: I like the feet, but just about any part of the polar bear is good, even the fat. Darren: What about you Elijah would you like to eat polar bear every day. Elijah: Yes I would eat it every day if I have to. Once a year would be nice. Darren: But you are not eating it once a year?

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Elijah: No. Darren: Would you consider it a delicacy or a treat? Down south there would be certain things that you would eat that would be hard to come by and you would eat anytime you got the chance. You would think of it as being a highly rated food. Jerry: Yes it would be. That is what we think about every year. We think to have polar bear every year. Darren: What did they use other parts of the polar bear for like skin and bone in the old days? Mary: Long ago we would use the skin for a mattress in the iglu and for clothing and other things. For watering their sled runners, mitts, pants and boots. People used to have caribou clothes and they had kumaqs [lice]. They would make a handle of wood and would put some polar bear fur on the end to remove the kumaqs. They would use the bones for tools. For example, for fish they would make a qupqaut for fish. And tuputat, which are plugs for the wounds. They used the qupturaq [femur]. Darren: And what about the teeth? Mary: They would take a tooth off and fix it for certain things. They would use it for the end of a qupqaut or a ladies or mens belt. Darren: Have you ever heard of the skull being kept? Mary: Some people would take them, but not too many people take them. I am not sure who has got them. Darren: Why do they keep them? Mary: I am not sure why. Some of them keep them for decoration in the room. Darren: In the old days have you ever heard of their being certain observances that needed to be followed -- Maligait or taboos [tiriguhuktut]? Mary: Not sure but they used to catch enough. Like two bears per person. They would take what they needed. Darren: The Inuktitut rules. I will tell you what I read. When Kunut [Knud Rasmussen] was here in 1923 he heard that when a polar bear was killed there was to be no hunting for a few days afterwards. Mary: I have never heard of these things. I am not sure if it happened when I was growing up. I never heard of it or seen it.

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Darren: Why is it important to you that you continue to eat polar bear meat? Mary: We were eating polar bear ever since we were growing up and it is our traditional food and that is why we like to eat polar bear meat. And I know that there are a lot of people who like polar bear meat, and lots of people who don’t like polar bear meat. Even if there are tags now, I would really like a polar bear skin. I like the polar bear skin to use for clothing. Darren: Would you still like to make polar bear skin clothing? Mary: If I had a choice I would, yes. I would make some pants or kamiks [boots]. Darren: Why would you like to make it out of polar bear skins instead of something else? Mary: They are the skin that takes the longest to wear out. A cub skin would be really good for clothing. Darren: Would you like to have polar bear skin pants? Elijah: Yes I would. Darren: Why? Elijah: They look nice. Darren: Because they look nice? Elijah: Because they are pretty warm. Warm and they last longer. Darren: It is interesting to me that you say that they look nice. Of the animals that you hunt what is your favourite to hunt? Elijah: My favourite animal to hunt is polar bear. Darren: How come? Elijah: Because it is fun and it is something you want to do all the time. Eat the meat. Everything. People crave for polar bear meat every year. Darren: Is there anyone in town that has polar bear skin clothing right now? Mary: I have never really seen anyone in town. I have seen that type of clothing when I was growing up. Darren: Where did you grow up? Mary: I grew up over there beyond Taloyoak and also around Ki’muagiaq. Darren: Did you ever have any close encounters with polar bears? A bear comes to the camp or something?

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Mary: Around Ki’muagiaq when the men were seal hunting a bear came to our camp. When I was outside and the polar bear was coming I went inside the iglu’s porch and made a hole in the side and I was watching the bear. The dogs were barking around the polar bear. They started fighting with the bear, and they killed the bear. The reason why they killed it was because the bear was skinny. The polar bear was caught by the dogs. Even though it was skinny we had the meat after it was killed. Darren: Is it true that they make the iglu doors low in that area because of polar bears? Mary: We use it mainly for shelter, we would change the door area according to the wind directions in order to keep the wind away. Sometimes we made them long and sometimes we made them short. Even when we were kids we had to kind of duck our heads down. Darren: Have you ever seen people hunting polar bears in the dens. Mary: I have never seen that. Darren: Have you ever seen any polar bear dens. Mary: No. I have never seen that. Darren: I forgot to get what year you were born. Where were you born again. Mary: 1936. Between Aqigiat and Shepard’s Bay on the ocean. Darren: Do remember back then in the old days, at what time of year would the sea-ice freeze up? Mary: I am not sure what month, and I remember we used to have qarmaq, ice houses. Darren: That is good. Is there anything else that you wanted to add? Mary: I talked about ningiqtuq [sharing meat] before, concerning polar bears. Niqaiturniq is different from ningiq. It is for seal. When we were kids we used to wait in front of the doorway after someone caught a seal. The person that was skinning the seal cut a strip on the side of the seal meat, and the kids would wait in the doorway for the seal to be skinned. When they were cutting up the strip they would cut it in small pieces and the kids were given a little bit of meat and it was called hanirairniq. And they were given that little bit of meat to their mouth. That is the only way that they would give it in their mouth. The kid that was given that little piece would take it

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home to their mother. They would not swallow it. And the mother would cut that little piece up into little pieces and give it to the brothers and sisters. When they were finished with giving the little pieces to the kids, the adults would niqaituq. The time I remembered when they niqaituq, when there was a lot of people in their camp, the person that caught the seal would have nothing. They would be left with the fat, the guts and sometimes the head. Or they would be left with nothing. Darren: Would they get the skin? Mary: The left over would be skin and a little bit of fat and the guts. I have nothing else to say but we share the meat, divide the meat in the camp. Darren: Good. Darren: Is there any legend about where polar bears came from? Mary: I don’t know.

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Peter and Susie Apiana—June 7, 2002 (Interviewed by Darren Keith and Jackie Ameralik) Peter: I grew up in this area here. When I was growing up we used to hunt polar bears in this area [area around Perry River]. Darren: Specifically where did you used to hunt them? Peter: In the old days they didn’t have quotas. Whatever came along they would shoot it, even if they were not hunting polar bears. We hunted around Hat Island and the Royal Geographic Society Islands, and Jenny Lind and Admirality Island. They always used to travel up here for the spring and they always used to catch polar bears whenever they could. Around 1956 or 57 when I was working on the DEW line site in Hat Island people used to always give me polar bear meat. They would always hunt in the islands around Hat Island. Darren: Did they still have dens in Hat Island after the DEW line was set up? Peter: [laughing] After the planes started coming there, the bears didn’t show up there anymore. Darren: So before the DEW line were the bears there? Peter: Yes. Yes. Darren: Did you personally hunt them in the dens?

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Peter: I didn’t hunt them myself. When I started working there [at the DEW line] that was the time when I was really on my own. Peter: Myself I never caught a polar bear there, but I knew that people used to catch polar bear there before the DEW line was set up. Darren: What about these islands—Ikaaqturijjat? Peter: Yes, when people were seal hunting there they used to catch polar bears there all the time. When the government did studies and they said that there is hardly any polar bears. It is not because of over hunting but because after the planes started coming in they have all been chased up north. Peter: Around the 1940s the polar bears were slowly going away from this area here [Queen Maud Gulf], and people started coming into this community to work, polar bears were moving away from this area. Darren: So there were polar bears in this area before [Queen Maud Gulf/Melbourne Island]? Peter: Around the early 60s I have seen people catching polar bears in that area [Queen Maud Gulf/Melbourne Island]. They were slowly moving away. I moved here to Gjoa Haven in 1967. Peter: I was born around Kuunajuk. Darren: How old were you when you first started hunting polar bears? Peter: It was only after I started living in Gjoa Haven that I started hunting polar bears. I never really hunted polar bears when I was growing up. Darren: Did you go along on polar bear hunts? Peter: No. Darren: So you just heard about people hunting in that area? Peter: Yes. Darren: Since you moved to Gjoa Haven you started hunting polar bears? Peter: The most popular area is this area here and this area here. Darren: [repeating] North of Clarence Islands, and Victoria Strait. Peter: Before we had quotas we were able to hunt as much as we want. It is not because of over hunting that there are hardly any polar bears left. I heard that polar bears attack people because they

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are more on that area where they are. The polar bears are moving away from this area here [Larsen Sound]. The polar bears have moved to different areas where there are already polar bears. Darren: Do you have any idea where these polar bears are moving? Peter: I don’t know which way they went. Before they just started having quotas they used to have the hunting season in October. That is when the ice just started freezing up. But then they moved the hunting season into December because in October it was too dangerous to hunt. Darren: You mentioned that when they were out sealing they would just run into tracks. Would you say that in the past you wouldn’t have a special hunting trip just to hunt bears? Peter: Yes some people did have hunts just for polar bears. Darren: Was it just certain people or certain families that went specifically hunting for bears? Peter: The hunters in the past, they hunt whatever they want to hunt, if they need polar bear then they hunt polar bears. Every family if they need something they go for it. Peter: If I could do what I want I would go back to Kuugjuaq and look for qiqaat [type of bird]. We used to hunt what we needed in the old days and it was up to them what they want. If they wanted to go hunting for muskox then they would go hunting for polar bear. If they wanted polar bear then they would go. Darren: Do you find polar bear meat to be particularly good to eat? How does it compare to other meats that you eat? Peter: Different people have different tastes, for instance my wife can’t eat muskox meat. It is really up to the individual. Darren: And you? Peter: I love polar bear meat. Darren: Why do you hunt polar bear? Peter: There were certain areas we had to go for polar bear. We would always have to go way up there by Prince of Wales Island. We were asked to go up in that area to hunt polar bear. They didn’t want us to go around this close area because they didn’t want people to hunt polar bear. Darren: Why is it important for you personally to hunt polar bear?

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Peter: We were sent down here to harvest polar bears. It was only after we got up here that we got our tags. By the government we were sent up. Maybe they thought that if we had to go to a further area, then we would stop polar bear hunting. They sent four people down there to polar bear harvest. If we didn’t arrive at a certain time, if the plane came in before we got down there we were not going to given any tags. Darren: When was that? Peter: Around early 70s. Peter: If all the polar bears are gone it is not because of overhunting it is because of aircraft coming in and chasing them away from the communities. The same thing with muskox, a few years ago they stopped muskox hunting and now they are overpopulated on Victoria Island. The same thing is going to happen with the bears. It is not the peoples’ fault that they were over-hunted here, they were chased away. Darren: Is it important to you that you continue to hunt polar bears? Peter: I myself didn’t want hunting to stop. I want to continue to hunt. After we heard we can not hunt polar bears anytime we want to. Some people, when they visit, say they can hunt them when they want to. The Inuit here have their own mind. They have their own rules in the culture. They are all going to be taken away by the government. Taken away from the people. The government makes rules not only for polar bears but with other animals, and also the rifles—need licenses for that. Now it is his responsibility and if someone else uses it he will get in trouble. Darren: Why is it important to hunt polar bears? Peter: If I could go polar bear hunting without breaking any laws I would, for the meat and to sell the hide. Susie: When I was a young child I saw my dad hunting polar bears, not with the rifle but with the harpoon. I would like to see polar bear hunting come back here to Gjoa Haven. When we used to hunt seals around Hat Island all the time and there were polar bears around that area; my dad would keep a harpoon around the iglu for safety reasons, because polar bears would come by the iglu around that area. My adoptive parents said that at night polar bears used to come and break down the iglu. I still remember that we only used to

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cook with seal oil lamps, we had no Coleman stoves. It must have been cold. I was adopted, so I was not raised with milk, but with meat soup. I remember that we used to skin a seal in upinngaaq [spring], and we used to peel it off and make a blubber storage bag out of it called an uqsuhivvik. My dad always used to catch polar bear for the meat and for the hide for bedding and clothing. I would like to see the hunting back here for the meat to be distributed out to the people who crave polar bear meat. I myself don’t eat the meat but I know that some people crave for the meat and I would like to see the polar bear hunting back here. We used to hunt a lot of animals, what we wanted, what we craved for. I used to eat grizzly bears and ground squirrels. Darren: I wanted to ask you about the different uses. You said you used to make clothing out of the skin? Susie: My father used to have polar bear pants. Darren: Why would you make clothing out of polar bear instead of something else? Susie: Because it was hard to find other animals at that time. We didn’t have rifles then, and you had to make clothing out of what you had. Jackie: Which one would be better to wear caribou or polar bear? Susie: Maybe caribou. Darren: It was just the pants they used to make out of polar bear skin? Susie: Mitts, but don’t know what else would be made out of them. Darren: What other uses were there for the skin? Peter: They use to use a piece for watering the sled runners. This piece of skin was called imaqtirut. Used to use them for picking up lice too. We always used to pick up lice with them. We would take a piece of stick and put a piece of skin on the end and used to stick this in the clothing. This was called a kumakhiut. It was our tradition. Susie: We always used to use the fat for lighting. Darren: How did it compare to seal oil? Susie: Polar bear fat is a lot better than seal fat. It burns well. And we would also use caribou fat.

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Peter: Our government makes the rules and regulations and it doesn’t help the people at all, anywhere in the north up here. Talking around the people in the community, we should forget the regulations of the government and just hunt for what we want. You [Darren] were out this spring, and that bear is going to find a mate and they will make more polar bears and all the animals are like that. They won’t really finish but there will be more coming back in the future. I know they will be back. Darren: In the distant past, were their any traditional beliefs or observances that you had to follow after you got a polar bear? Peter: I don’t know. Susie: I don’t know either. Peter: The only thing I know is when someone caught an animal the people around them were very happy that they caught an animal. Darren: How would they share an animal? Was there any special way of sharing it? Peter: If you saw a person coming home with a polar bear, whoever gets to that person. The first one gets a hindquarter and the second person gets another quarter. But I don’t know how it works exactly. It was the same with bearded seal. We always used to race, to try and get to the hunter first to get the best part of the meat. In the old days, after we started having quotas they always used to give out meat to other people, but after the quotas they don’t seem to do that anymore. It is like they don’t do that anymore, they used to give it out to the Elders. Now if I come in with a load of animals, I don’t see anyone come and go pick up a piece of meat anymore. They always used to do that in the old days, when someone came in they always used to go pick up meat for themselves, but now you don’t see that anymore. Darren: That is interesting but I heard that people go on the radio when they come in. Jackie [continuing to clarify Peter’s point]: Yes through the radio, but in the old days they didn’t have radios, and if someone sees me coming in with a load of animals, they won’t go and pick any up. Now you have to tell them to come and pick some up. You didn’t have to tell them. Darren: Do you think it is because of the tags?

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Peter: No it is not because of the tags. We are following the white man’s way now. In the Inuit culture we used to go pick up meat on our own without asking. Some people might still do this, but I don’t see people doing that anymore. It is not because of the tags, it is just that people have changed. Darren: In the old days when people would run to get a share, is there a name for that? Peter: Ningiq. If I get a bear, the first person that gets to me will get the biggest meat. You call that ningiqtuq. Darren: When did that end? Did it continue after people came to Gjoa Haven? Peter: I don’t know when it stopped, but I know it was after the community was established. Darren: Have either of you ever heard of people keeping the skull of the polar bear? Peter: Yes they always used to keep the skull. The person who caught the polar bear. Darren: Every time? Peter: It was up to the person. Darren: What did they use it for? Peter: I don’t know what they used them for. Susie: We don’t know what else to say about polar bears. Darren: Do you know where polar bears tend to den? Peter: Hiuraarjuaq, Nugluktarvik, I don’t know exactly because I was not raised up in this area. Darren: Have you seen any changes in the sea ice from the time when you were young to today? Peter: I don’t know. Every year is not the same. The weather is different every year. Darren: Where you came from what were the people called? Peter: Ahiaq. Ahiarmiut. Darren: That is what people from Perry River are? Peter: Yes. The people who are on Victoria are called Kiilinirmiut, when they are there. Myself I would call myself Ahiarmiut. After I moved here, people call me Kiilinirmiut, but myself I would call myself Ahiarmiut. When you look at the rocks there are significant differences. Most of rocks in this area are white to the north and

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dark to the south. The area with the white rocks is called Kiiliniq and the area with the darker rocks is called Ahiaq [Line through the south of King William Island].

A pilot project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

Appendix 4: Polar Bear Study: Principles, Methods, Interview Guide The IQ presented in this report was collected in the course of three sessions of interviews with 16 different individuals between January and June 2002. Two of the sessions were conducted in Gjoa Haven at the informants’ residences; the transcripts of these sessions form Appendices 1 and 3. Information was also collected as field notes during informal interviews and participant observation during a field trip north of Qikiqtaq (King William Island) in early April 2002 (Appendix 2). Quotes from appendices are cited as A1, A2 and A3 respectively throughout the text. To preserve the accuracy and specificity inherent in Inuit geographical description, an effort was made to use Inuktitut place names in transcripts, field notes, and in this report. All Inuktitut place names and words are italicized in the report, with the exception of official community names and personal names. Inuit Knowledge and Authority Inuit Knowledge, as an oral knowledge system, is in the trust of Inuit Elders who received oral traditions from an earlier generation of Elders. As the oldest living holders of the tradition Elders have the greatest breadth of inherited knowledge, and the longest time spent assimilating new experiences using their framework of IQ. Thus IQ continues to incorporate new knowledge and to grow, as does any body of knowledge that seeks to explain an ever-changing world. This study presents not only IQ, passed on through the generations, but also IQ–based inferences made by today’s authoritative knowledge holders. The Elders of today have received Inuit Knowledge from many deceased Elders whose lives reach far back into pre-Christian and pre-fur trade times. For the reasons discussed above, Elders are the recognized authorities with respect to what is rightly IQ. When enquiring about a specific subject in a particular geographical area, one is directed by other Inuit to the Elder who is most experienced, and who has spent the most time in that area. In small communities, this individual’s authority on a specific subject will be well A4: 231

A pilot project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization

known, and younger, or less experienced informants will direct the questioner to this individual. If the two are present together, the less senior or experienced will defer to the more senior on the subject matter in question. Authority in IQ will vary among a number of informants; the credibility of a statement is not proportional to the number of informants who make similar statements. For this reason IQ does not lend itself to quantification or statistical analysis. In some areas of specialized knowledge, few and sometimes only one authoritative informant may make a statement that will be credible. This is already a common occurrence in areas of specialized geographical or technical knowledge, and will become even more common in the future following the death of the few remaining Elders who were raised to maturity on the land before settlements. The lack of knowledge and experience of younger people who are choosing not to engage in subsistence activities; and, the loss of the specialized Inuktitut vocabulary associated with specific activities also presents a challenge to the retention and transmission of IQ. Polar bear hunting is today a specialized subsistence activity in Gjoa Haven, with very few individuals participating actively. Of this limited pool of potential informants, even fewer are Elders, and of these, even fewer are still active polar bear hunters and travel extensively throughout the study area. In the course of interviewing various individuals, it became apparent to the authors that significant IQ related to polar bears and associated Inuktitut vocabulary has been lost, even among active polar bear hunters in their 40s and 50s. This underlines the importance of working with the most authoritative remaining Elders to record IQ of polar bears as comprehensively as possible. Informant Selection Informants were selected based on their authority as holders of IQ related to polar bears, and on their experience of polar bear hunting. The Gjoa Haven HTO identified the Elders whose knowledge of polar bears and polar bear hunting is known locally to be the most authoritative. Younger informants who are active hunters or hunting guides were also selected. An effort was made to include women from polar bear hunting families and to ensure that all socio-territorial groupings (‘-miut’ groups) were represented. As lead researcher, Darren Keith had input into the selections, in consultation with HTO president Louie Kamookak, and project co-researchers. A4: 232

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Darren Keith has been traveling to Gjoa Haven since 1993 for the purpose of conducting IQ projects, and is well acquainted with many of the Elders. The authors of this report do not claim to have interviewed all the individuals that would have had some experience of polar bear hunting in Gjoa Haven; however they are confident that the IQ of the most authoritative informants have been included. Validation of IQ A fundamental ethic of Inuit oral tradition is the transmission of oral knowledge accurately and precisely. The prevalence of this inherent accuracy and precision has been discussed elsewhere (Ferguson and Messier 1997; Freeman 1993; Arima 1976). While one may have confidence that the statement of an Inuk informant is accurate to the best of their knowledge, variations exist due to the varied life experiences of different individuals. Such variations may be explained and understood through discussion with other knowledgeable individuals. However, in some cases, inconsistencies may remain unexplained. The topics presented in this book have been included based on their being representative of IQ related to polar bears in Gjoa Haven, based on the authority of the individual informant(s) who provided the information, and on the fact that a statement, or the underlying basis for a statement was repeated by other informants. Topics were determined by assessing all the interviews, although only selected quotes are used to communicate IQ on a specific topic in this book, with other relevant references to the topic included in parentheses. Where only one informant has provided information on a topic, this is specifically noted. Where there is more than one view on a topic, all views are included. The Gjoa Haven HTO has reviewed this report in consultation with Elders. Literature Review A literature review was conducted using the collections of the Canadian Circumpolar Library at the University of Alberta and the Department of Renewable Resources Library in Yellowknife. Mitch Taylor, a biologist with the Nunavut Department of Environment, contributed his knowledge and many articles; Canadian Wildlife Service biologist Ian Stirling also gave freely of his knowledge and his personal collection of articles. The literature review focused on earlier IQ A4: 233

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studies related to polar bears, ethnographic sources related to Inuit and polar bears in the central arctic, and scientific studies of polar bears in the central arctic. This literature was helpful in the design of an interview guide, and as source of traditional knowledge related to polar bears. The existing literature on the collection of IQ related to polar bears is discussed below. Susie Kalaxdorff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service undertook the most extensive collection of traditional knowledge related to polar bears to date, which is summarized in the report Collection of Local Knowledge Regarding Polar Bear Habitat Use in Alaska (Kalaxdorff 1997). This study involved mapping the locations where Iňupiat interviewees remembered seeing polar bears, or signs of polar bears. Observational evidence mapped included three types of activities—denning, feeding or seasonal movements (Kalaxdorff 1997:5). Taken together, the observations of all the hunters in all the communities studied provided the biologists with geographical information on denning and feeding habitat. This information was integrated into the Habitat Conservation Strategy for Polar Bears in Alaska (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1995). A direct offshoot of the Alaskan work is a long-term study currently being undertaken in Chukotka, Russia. The Alaskan Nanuuq Commission is working with the Russian Association of Traditional Marine Mammal Hunters and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) conducting habitat studies and conservation education in Chukotkan villages. This work is supported in part by the U.S. National Parks Service as part of the Beringia Projects program. In Canada, there have been two efforts to collect IQ related to polar bears; both discuss polar bears in the study area. The Nunavut wildlife service in Kugluktuk produced the Traditional Knowledge Polar Bear Report in February 2001 (Atatahak and Banci 2001), which summarized interviews conducted in Cambridge Bay, Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak in September 2000. Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI) interviewed Elders in Cambridge Bay beginning in March 2001 concerning polar bears in the study area (Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated 2001a; 2001b; 2001c). The interviewer, Attima Hadlari of NTI provided copies of the translated transcripts for use in this study. Before the creation of Nunavut, the Northwest Territories Department of Renewable Resources conducted several polar bear denning surveys in the study area that relied upon IQ to identify the locations to be investigated, and to aid in locating dens (Gunn et al. 1991; Jingfors and Kaomayok 1984; Williams and Jingfors 1983; Spencer and Schweinsburg 1979). A4: 234

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The Report of the Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project was another important source of IQ on denning areas, as well as a source of historical information on polar bear hunting in the study area (Freeman 1976). Denning location information was also provided by the Nunavut Atlas (Riewe 1992) which was developed using data from the Report of the Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project; Northern Land Use Information Series maps; and interview data collected in each community in Nunavut in 1986 and 1987 (Riewe 1992). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife study conducted by Kalaxdorff (1997) is the most significant existing study involving Inuit knowledge of polar bears. The resulting report was instructive for the design of a research methodology, as it shows the types of habitat that can be mapped using Inuit observations. Suzie Kalaxdorff generously provided background on the study in a telephone conversation. She explained that the study was initiated specifically to fulfill the information needs of government biologists for inclusion in the Habitat Conservation Strategy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Therefore, the scope of the information collected was limited and predefined, consisting of only the first hand observations of individual informants that were recorded, mapped and aggregated. Inferences drawn from these data were based on fundamental biological knowledge alone. The approach taken in the Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut study differs from that of Kalaxdorff in significant ways. The study was initiated by Inuit to fulfill a variety of information needs and the scope of information collected was open-ended and defined by IQ holders. Data collected consisted of first-hand observations and oral tradition. Fundamental IQ related to polar bears was recorded and inferences explaining observations were based on fundamental IQ. The authors of this book have attempted to record and present data in a way that will allow IQ to be understood and used in its own right and for this reason, this study moves beyond Kalaxdorff 1997. In-Town Interviews Two rounds of interviews were conducted in Gjoa Haven; the first round was completed between January 31 and February 4, and the second between June 6 and June 12, 2002. The individuals interviewed during the in-town sessions included men who are polar bear hunters or women from polar bear hunting families. These individuals were identified by the Gjoa A4: 235

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Haven HTO, or during discussions with other interviewees. An effort was made to interview individuals representing different socio-territorial groupings, who used different areas for polar bear hunting. The semi-directed interview method was used for the in-town sessions. As Usher (2000) has discussed, the semi-directed interview has been a key method in TEK data collection for recent studies (Ferguson and Messier 1997; Huntington 1998; Fienup-Riordan 1999; Keith and Scottie 2001). An interview guide was developed in consultation with the Gjoa Haven HTO, for use in the first round of interviews. The interview guide was adjusted after the experiences of the first round and the April field trip (See Appendix 4). Interviews were recorded on analog tape and digital mini-disc. Maps were used during all interviews and all geographical data on the location of polar bear feeding or denning habitat were recorded. Co-researchers Louie Kamookak, Jackie Ameralik and Jerry Arqviq provided consecutive interpretation during the interviews. Field notes were transcribed from the consecutive interpretations on the audio recordings. Jerry Arqviq was the co-researcher for the field trip, and almost the entire second round of in-town interviews. Field Trip The field trip portion of the study involved traveling to the north end of King William Island by snow machine during the period of April 4 to 16, 2002. Elders Bob Konana and George Kamookak were selected to lead the field trip by the Gjoa Haven HTO because of their authority as senior polar bear hunters and their ability to undertake such physically demanding activity. Youth Trainees Ian Kamookak and John Pukiqnaq were selected by the HTO after a call was put out over the radio for interested youth. The selection of trainees was based on consultation with their instructors who verified their superior performance in high school. Geographer Darren Keith was the lead IQ researcher, with Jerry Arqviq as co-researcher. Filmmaker Charles Liard of Big Fish Productions (Yellowknife) accompanied the party to make a video documentary of the trip. The Gjoa Haven HTO scheduled the field trip to coincide with a period when IQ predicts that polar bear maternity dens are likely to be vacated. The objectives of the trip were to make observations on:

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1. the location and number of vacated maternity dens identified earlier, and number of cubs that survived to exit the dens; 2. polar bear sign such as tracks, and seal kills; 3. polar bear behaviour; 4. the state of environmental conditions that impact polar bear ecology. These data and any inferences deriving from them were recorded during informal and semi-directed interviews with the Elders in the field. Additional discussions covering new subjects that arose during the field work, or previously discussed subjects that were better illustrated on the land, were also recorded. Selected interviews and activities were recorded on video for inclusion in the documentary video being produced as a tool for communicating the results of the project in Inuktitut. Youth trainees were present for many of the oral and video interviews, and the Elders were always available to answer questions and to immerse them in IQ related to polar bears, the sea-ice, and the geography of the region. Apart from the interviews captured on video, all statements and observations were recorded in field notes, on maps, and on a hand-held GPS during the fieldtrip. The field trip description, observations, and transcripts are included in Appendix 2.

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Inuit Qaujimaningit Nanurnut Interview Guide Background Questions—land use and polar bear hunting history When were you born? Where were you born? What was the name of your people [-miut group]? What area did the ?-miut use? For sealing, for trapping, for polar bear hunting? Where was your family living when you were a child? What areas was your family using when you were old enough to start remembering? What areas was your family using before you moved into Gjoa Haven? What areas were you using after you moved to Gjoa Haven? Do you remember seeing polar bears killed before you were old enough to hunt? Where? When did you first go hunting polar bears? How old were you? Where? When did you first kill a polar bear? Where? Did you hunt polar bears every year since then? Where? Did you hunt polar bears by dogteam? When did you first start using a skidoo to hunt polar bears? When did you move into Gjoa Haven? Did you continue to hunt polar bears from then until recently? Where? Has the locations where you hunt polar bear changed over time? Polar Bear Denning Habitat When do polar bears go into their dens? When do they exit their dens? Can you tell us where on the map you would expect to find polar bear dens? Are there places where you would expect to find polar bear dens every year? Has the location or number of polar bear dens changed over time? What are the conditions needed for polar bears to select areas to have their dens?

Have the conditions changed in these favoured denning areas over the years? Are the areas where there are traditionally dens getting as much snow as they have in the past? Has the condition of the accumulated snow [aputit] changed over the years? Polar Bear Mating Behaviour When do polar bears mate? Are there specific locations that they mate? Where are these? Seal Habitat Mapping What kind of ice conditions are favourable for nattiit [ringed seal]? Can you show us on the map any specific locations or areas where you would expect there to be many nattiit? Why are these locations favoured by the nattiit? Have you seen any change in the location of favourable conditions for nattiit [ringed seal] or ugjuit [bearded seal]? Have you seen any change in the number of nattiit or ugjuit? Do there still seem to be the same amount of ugjuit when compared to nattiit? Are you catching the same amount or young nattiit and ugjuit compared to adults, or are the percentage of adults becoming more? Have you seen any changes in the health or appearance of nattiit or ugjuit? Are there any other types of seals that you know of? Are there any certain areas where they are found? Are there any changes in the numbers of these other seals people are catching? What do the different seals eat? [Inangajak or Innangajak?] Do polar bears hunt both all these types of seals? Polar Bear Hunting Habitat What types of conditions do polar bears like to hunt? What ice conditions are they looking for?

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A pilot project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization Can you show us on the map where there are areas that have these types of conditions where polar bears like to hunt? Is there a preference between these different types of ice conditions? Do you find polar bears and polar bear tracks more or less around any of these things: piqalujaq [translation?]; qaq&uliq [translation?]; aijuraq [translation?]; quglungniq [translation?]; qugluarniq [translation?]; aukarniq [translation?]; angmaruq [translation?] Has there been any change to the locations or abundance of these favoured hunting locations? Are there less bears in one, some or all or these locations? Seasonal Movements When you are out sealing or polar bear hunting, in the areas where there are polar bears, do they seem to all be moving in a certain direction? Ice Conditions Have you seen any changes in the ice conditions north of King William Island since you first started remembering? Ice free times and areas? When did the sea ice freeze in the past? When is it freezing up recently? When did the sea ice break up in the past? When is it breaking up recently? Have you seen changes in the abundance, appearance or locations of: piqalujaq [icebergs]; quglungniq [pressure ridges]; aukarniq [polynyas]; ikatlruq [shallow areas where ice piles up]; other significant features? Does the ice move in a certain direction or are there specific currents north of Qikiqtaq? [MAP CURRENTS] Stages of Development What are the different developmental stages of polar bears for both males and females and how can you differentiate between them? Do they have any particular behaviours? At what stages do the males and females mate? Are the males territorial? Can you tell the difference what stage of animal you are tracking by the tracks or other sign?

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Tracking How can you tell the difference between different stages by tracks? What other sign do you look for? Hunting in historical perspective How were polar bears hunted in the time before firearms? How were polar bears hunted in the time of dogteams and firearms? How are polar bears hunted in the time of snow machines? Did people intentionally go out to find and catch polar bears in the past, or was polar bear hunting done when other activities brought the hunter close to dens, or across a track? Uses of Polar Bear Parts How was polar bear meat prepared and eaten in the past? What were the parts of the bear and the skin used for? Did you ever have polar bear clothing, or see any polar bear clothing? When were polar bear skins first traded? How is polar bear meat prepared and eaten today? What are the parts of the bear and the skin used for now? Is it important that you continue to eat polar bear meat? Why? Is it important that Inuit continue to eat polar bear meat in the future? Why? How would you rate polar bear meat compared to other traditional foods such as fish, caribou, seal, bearded seal, muskox, grizzly bear or others? Would you eat it every day? How often was polar bear meat eaten in the days before you moved into Gjoa Haven? [Is polar bear meat a delicacy? Was it always a delicacy?] Importance of Polar Bear Hunting Is it important to you that you continue to have the opportunity to polar bear hunt? Why? Why is important that Inuit continue to hunt polar bears? What was it like to get your first polar bear? Did your parents do anything to celebrate your catch? In the past what was done when a son caught his first polar bear? Is it important that you continue to eat polar bear meat? Why?

A pilot project of the Gjoa Haven Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization Is it important that Inuit continue to eat polar bear meat in the future? Why? How would you rate polar bear meat compared to other traditional foods such as fish, caribou, seal, bearded seal? Sharing How was polar bear shared in the past? How is polar bear shared since people started living in Gjoa Haven? Is the meat only shared with the relatives of the hunter or more widely? Did the way polar bear was shared change after there started being tags? Beliefs Are there any traditional beliefs about polar bears that you would like to share? Was there any observances or practices that have to be followed after a polar bear is killed? Have you heard of a past practice of not hunting for a few days after a polar bear is killed? Why is the polar bear skull kept and polished sometimes? What is the origin of the polar bear?

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Appendix 5 Key to Place Names Inuktitut – English Atanikittuq – Part of Klutschak Peninsula Avvaq– Taylor Island Haglaarjuk – one of the Tennant Islands Hattiumaniq – west coast of Boothia Hiuraarjuaq –one of the Royal Geographic Society Islands Igukpaktalik – Cape Sidney Ikaaqturijjat – Melbourne Island Iluilliq – Adelaide Peninsula Iviangirnaq– no English name Kiilliniq – Victoria Island Ki’muagiaq – Larsen Sound area Kangiq&unajuk – Collinson Inlet Kangilliniq – Rasmussen Basin Kingiktuarjuk – one of the Tennant Islands Kinngailaq – Prince of Wales Island Kinngaq – Matty Island Kugaaruk– formerly Pelly Bay Malirrualik – Peabody Point

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Nalutaliq – no English name Napaqtilik – no English name Nataliq – no English name Nuluktarvik– one of the Royal Geographical Society Islands – no English name Nuvuk – Cape Felix Putulik – Hat Island Qadgiuraq– Pasley Bay Qikiqtarjuaq – Jenny Lind Island Qikiqtagafaaluk – Admiralty Island Qikiqtaq – King William Island Quukilruq – Simpson Strait Taloyoak – Spence Bay Tununiq– no English Name Ugjulik – Storis Passage (Queen Maud Gulf area) Ujarahugjulik– Clarence Islands Umingmalik – Gateshead Island Uplutuuq – one of the Tennant Islands

English- Inuktitut Peabody Point – Malirrualik Perry River – Kuugjuaq Prince of Wales Island – Kinngailaq Queen Maud Gulf – no Inuktitut name Rasmussen Basin – Kangiliniq Royal Geographic Islands – Hiuraarjuaq and Nuluktarvik Sherman Inlet – Atanikittuq Simpson Strait – Quukilruq Spence Bay – Taloyoak Storis Passage – Ugjulik Taylor Island – Avvaq Tennant Islands (collective name in English) – Haglaarjuk – Kingiqtuarjuk – Qikiqtarjuaq – Uplutuuq Victoria Island – Kiilliniq White Bear Point - Aulattivigjuaq

Adelaide Peninsula – Illuiliq Admiralty Island – Qikiqtagafaaluk Albert Edward Bay – no Inuktitut name Baker Lake – Qamanittuaq Boothia Peninsula – no Inuktitut name Cambridge Bay – Iqaluktuuttiaq Cape Felix – Nuvuk Cape Sidney – Iglukpaktalik Clarence Islands - Ujarahugjulik Collinson Inlet – Kangiq&unajuk Collinson Peninsula – no Inuktitut name Ellice River – Kuunnajuk Gateshead Island – Umingmalik Gjoa Haven – Uqsuqtuuq Hat Island – Putulik Humboldt Channel – Qikiqtarjuup Sulaarnia Jenny Lind Island – Qikiqtarjuaq King William Island –Qikiqitaq Larsen Sound – Ki’muagiaq Matty Island – Kinngaq McClintock Channel – no Inuktitut name Melbourne Island – Ikaaqturijjat

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